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Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities
Bureau of Labor Statistics > Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities > Home
TABLE A-7. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics and event or exposure, all United States, 2020
Worker Characteristics Total fatal injuries (number) Event or exposure(1)
Transportation incidents(2) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals(3) Contact with objects and equipment Falls, slips, trips Exposure to harmful substances or environments Fires and explosions

Total

 4,764 1,778 705 716 805 672 71

Employee status

Wage and salary(4)

 3,864 1,466 555 545 635 591 56

Self-employed(5)

 900 312 150 171 170 81 15

Gender

Women

 387 143 96 29 54 59 -

Men

 4,377 1,635 609 687 751 613 -

Age

Under 16 years

 14 8 - 4 - - -

16 to 17 years

 12 7 - - - - -

18 to 19 years

 66 25 17 10 8 6 -

20 to 24 years

 260 110 49 32 - 41 -

25 to 34 years

 833 289 162 118 - 172 -

35 to 44 years

 898 305 135 124 118 199 14

45 to 54 years

 954 333 143 150 167 135 23

55 to 64 years

 1,051 418 130 174 214 96 12

65 years and over

 676 283 65 104 191 21 9

Race or ethnic origin(6)

White, non-Hispanic

 2,898 1,132 392 463 447 413 43

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

 541 225 125 61 55 65 7

Hispanic or Latino

 1,072 324 111 176 269 170 18

American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic

 32 16 - - 5 5 -

Asian, non-Hispanic

 150 44 61 7 22 12 -

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic

 8 - - - - - -

Footnotes
(1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.
(2) Includes roadway, nonroadway, air, water, rail fatal occupational injuries, and fatal occupational injuries resulting from being struck by a vehicle.
(3) Includes violence by persons, self-inflicted injury, and attacks by animals.
(4) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. Cases where employment status is unknown are included in the counts of wage and salary workers.
(5) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships.
(6) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude data for Hispanics and Latinos. Cases where ethnicity is unknown are included in counts of non-Hispanic workers.

Note: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state, New York City, District of Columbia, and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, December 2021

 

Last Modified Date: December 16, 2021