Unintentional overdoses rose for the ninth consecutive year in 2021

There were 464 workplace fatalities from unintentional overdoses due to nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol in 2021. This is a 19.6-percent increase from 2020 when there were 388 fatalities and is the ninth consecutive annual increase. Unintentional overdoses from nonmedical use of drugs include overdoses from stimulants such as methamphetamine and from narcotics such as fentanyl.

Unintentional overdoses from nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol represented more than half (58.2 percent) of the cases in the broader event category, exposure to harmful substances or environments. This event category had 798 workplace fatalities in 2021, 18.8 percent more than in the prior year. In total, there were 5,190 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2021, an 8.9-percent increase from 4,764 in 2020.

These data are from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. To learn more, see “National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2021.” We also have more charts on work-related deaths.