Fatal work injuries totaled 70 in 2012 for Maryland, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2012 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Maryland was similar to the number recorded a year ago. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 106 in 2006 to a low of 60 in 2008, with little change over the last three years. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,383 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2012, down from a revised count of 4,693 fatal work injuries in 2011, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Revised 2012 CFOI data will be released in the late Spring of 2014.

Of the 70 fatal work injuries reported in Maryland in 2012, 23 resulted from transportation incidents, down from 29 in the prior year. (Note that transportation counts presented in this release are expected to rise when updated 2012 data are released in Spring 2014 because key source documentation detailing specific transportation-related incidents has not yet been received.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals and falls, slips, or trips were the next most frequent events with 14 worker deaths each. Fatalities from violence and other injuries by persons or animals decreased from 17 in 2011, while fatal falls, slips, or trips increased by 6 over the year. The fourth-largest major fatal event category in the state in 2012 was contact with objects and equipment, accounting for 11 fatalities. Together, these 4 major categories accounted for 89 percent of all workplace deaths in the state. (See table 1.)

Within transportation incidents, 10, or 43 percent of fatal injuries were caused by roadway incidents. In the violence and other injuries by persons or animals category, five deaths were intentional injuries by other persons (homicides) and seven were self-inflicted injuries—self (suicides). All of the worker fatalities caused by falls, slips, or trips were a result of a fall to a lower level. In the contact with objects and equipment category, 10 of the 11 fatalities were caused by being struck by an object or equipment.  

In both the United States and Maryland, transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2012, accounting for 41 percent of all workplace deaths nationwide and 33 percent in the state. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent type of event nationally, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities. In Maryland, this event was tied with falls, slips, or trips as the second-most frequent event (20 percent each). Contact with objects or equipment and falls, slips, or trips were the third- and fourth-most frequent events in the nation, representing 16 and 15 percent of the total, respectively. In Maryland, contact with objects or equipment caused 16 percent of worker deaths.

Additional key characteristics in Maryland:

• The construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in the state with 15, up from 13 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls to a lower level were responsible for 7 of the 15 fatalities. Specialty trade contractors accounted for over half of the worker deaths in this industry in 2012.
• Transportation and warehousing had the second-highest fatality count with 12, compared to 11 in 2011. Transportation incidents accounted for nine of the 2012 worker deaths in this industry. Within the sector, 7 of the 12 fatal injuries were in truck transportation.
• Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities in Maryland with 15. (See table 3.) Two-thirds of these fatalities (10) were a result of transportation incidents. Workers in construction and extraction occupations had the next-highest fatality count at 13, followed by building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers with 10 fatalities.
• Men accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities in the state, similar to their 92-percent share nationally. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 34 percent of fatalities among men in Maryland, while falls to a lower level accounted for 22 percent. The most frequent fatal event for women was violence and other injuries by persons or animals, causing three of the six workplace fatalities for women in Maryland in 2012.
• In Maryland, 53 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics, a smaller share than the 68 percent nationwide. However, 26 percent of fatally-injured workers in the state were black or African-American non-Hispanics, while this group accounted for 10 percent of work-related deaths in the nation. Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 19 percent of workplace fatalities in Maryland and 16 percent in the U.S. as a whole.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 51 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2012; nationally, workers in this group accounted for 59 percent of total workplace fatalities. In Maryland, the single age group with the largest number of fatal injuries was 55-64 years old with almost one-quarter of the state’s total fatalities.
• Of the 70 fatally-injured workers in Maryland, 71 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents, while for self-employed workers, it was violence and other injuries by persons or animals.
• In 2011, CFOI began identifying if a fatally-injured worker was working as a contractor and recording the industry of both the worker and the contracting firm. A contractor is defined as a worker employed by one firm but working at the behest of another firm that exercises overall responsibility for the operations at the site of the fatal injury. In 2012, Maryland had 10 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria; all were in the private sector. Of these, three fatalities occurred at the location of contracting firms in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry and two in the construction industry. Falls to a lower level were responsible for 6 of the 10 contractor deaths.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200. Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

For technical information and definitions for the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries. Among these agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor and industries, and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Maryland, 2011-2012

Event or exposure(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	71	70	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	17	14	20
Intentional injury by person	15	12	17
Intentional injury by other person	10	5	7
Shooting by other person--intentional	6	4	6
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	1	1	1
Self-inflicted injury--intentional	5	7	10
Shooting--intentional self-harm	4	6	9
Transportation incidents	29	23	33
Aircraft incidents	1	2	3
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	-	2	3
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--due to mechanical failure	-	1	1
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--into structure, object, or ground	-	1	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	4	5	7
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	-	3	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle propelled by another vehicle in roadway	-	1	1
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	-	1	1
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	-	1	1
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	17	10	14
Roadway collision with other vehicle	8	4	6
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	-	1	1
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	-	1	1
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	7	6	9
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	7	6	9
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	-	4	6
Nonroadway noncollision incident	-	4	6
Fall or jump from vehicle in normal operation, nonroadway	-	3	4
Falls, slips, trips	8	14	20
Falls to lower level	6	14	20
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	-	3	4
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment 6 to 10 feet	-	1	1
Other fall to lower level	5	9	13
Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet	-	2	3
Other fall to lower level 21 to 25 feet	-	1	1
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	-	4	6
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	4	8	11
Exposure to electricity	4	2	3
Indirect exposure to electricity	-	2	3
Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts	-	2	3
Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.	-	2	3
Contact with objects and equipment	9	11	16
Struck by object or equipment	6	10	14
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	1	3	4
Struck by falling part of powered vehicle still attached	-	1	1
Struck by rolling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	-	-	-
Struck by rolling object or equipment being pushed by injured worker	-	1	1
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	4	4	6
Struck by swinging or slipping object, other than handheld	-	1	1
Struck by or caught in swinging door or gate	-	1	1
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	2	1	1
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. (2) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Maryland, 2011-2012

Industry(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	71	70	100
Private industry	63	62	89
Goods-producing	20	25	36
Natural resources and mining	4	5	7
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	4	5	7
Crop production	-	1	1
Support activities for agriculture and forestry	-	3	4
Support activities for crop production	-	3	4
Support activities for crop production	-	3	4
Soil preparation, planting, and cultivating	-	3	4
Construction	13	15	21
Construction	13	15	21
Construction of buildings	-	5	7
Residential building construction	-	5	7
Residential building construction	-	5	7
New single-family housing construction (except operative builders)	-	1	1
Residential remodelers	-	4	6
Specialty trade contractors	11	8	11
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	-	3	4
Roofing contractors	-	1	1
Residential roofing contractors	-	1	1
Siding contractors	1	1	1
Building equipment contractors	4	1	1
Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors	1	1	1
Building finishing contractors	-	1	1
Finish carpentry contractors	-	1	1
Residential finish carpentry contractors	-	1	1
Other specialty trade contractors	4	3	4
Site preparation contractors	3	3	4
Manufacturing	3	5	7
Manufacturing	3	5	7
Food manufacturing	-	-	-
Other food manufacturing	-	1	1
Seasoning and dressing manufacturing	-	1	1
Spice and extract manufacturing	-	1	1
Printing and related support activities	-	1	1
Printing and related support activities	-	1	1
Printing	-	1	1
Commercial gravure printing	-	1	1
Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing	-	1	1
Cement and concrete product manufacturing	-	1	1
Cement manufacturing	-	1	1
Computer and electronic product manufacturing	-	1	1
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing	-	1	1
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing	-	1	1
Analytical laboratory instrument manufacturing	-	1	1
Service-providing	43	37	53
Trade, transportation, and utilities	21	18	26
Retail trade	4	4	6
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	-	-	-
Other motor vehicle dealers	-	1	1
Motorcycle, boat, and other motor vehicle dealers	-	1	1
General merchandise stores	-	1	1
Department stores	-	1	1
Department stores	-	1	1
Discount department stores	-	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	11	12	17
Air transportation	-	1	1
Nonscheduled air transportation	-	1	1
Nonscheduled air transportation	-	1	1
Truck transportation	7	7	10
General freight trucking	6	3	4
General freight trucking, local	-	1	1
Specialized freight trucking	-	4	6
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, local	-	1	1
Warehousing and storage	-	1	1
Warehousing and storage	-	1	1
Financial activities	-	2	3
Finance and insurance	-	1	1
Credit intermediation and related activities	-	1	1
Depository credit intermediation	-	1	1
Commercial banking	-	1	1
Real estate and rental and leasing	-	1	1
Real estate	-	1	1
Lessors of real estate	-	1	1
Lessors of residential buildings and dwellings	-	1	1
Professional and business services	12	9	13
Administrative and waste services	10	8	11
Administrative and support services	8	7	10
Services to buildings and dwellings	5	7	10
Landscaping services	5	6	9
Waste management and remediation services	-	1	1
Remediation and other waste management services	-	1	1
Remediation services	-	1	1
Educational and health services	3	-	-
Educational services	1	1	1
Educational services	1	1	1
Technical and trade schools	1	1	1
Technical and trade schools	1	1	1
Flight training	1	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	5	4	6
Accommodation and food services	5	3	4
Food services and drinking places	4	3	4
Limited-service eating places	3	1	1
Limited-service eating places	3	1	1
Limited-service restaurants	3	1	1
Special food services	-	1	1
Food service contractors	-	1	1
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	-	1	1
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	-	1	1
Other services, except public administration	-	2	3
Other services, except public administration	-	2	3
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations	-	2	3
Religious organizations	-	2	3
Religious organizations	-	2	3
Government(3)	8	8	11
Local government	6	5	7
Service-providing	6	5	7
Educational and health services	1	2	3
Educational services	1	2	3
Educational services	1	2	3
Elementary and secondary schools	1	2	3
Elementary and secondary schools	1	2	3
Public administration	2	3	4
Public administration	2	3	4
Justice, public order, and safety activities	2	3	4
Justice, public order, and safety activities	2	3	4
Police protection	1	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown. (2) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Maryland, 2011-2012

Occupation(1)	2011(2)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	71	70	100
Management occupations	3	6	9
Other management occupations	-	6	9
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	-	2	3
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	-	2	3
Food service managers	-	1	1
Food service managers	-	1	1
Business and financial operations occupations	-	1	1
Business operations specialists	-	1	1
Compliance officers	-	1	1
Compliance officers	-	1	1
Community and social services occupations	-	1	1
Religious workers	-	1	1
Clergy	-	1	1
Clergy	-	1	1
Education, training, and library occupations	1	1	1
Preschool, primary, secondary, and special education school teachers	1	1	1
Elementary and middle school teachers	-	1	1
Elementary school teachers, except special education	-	1	1
Protective service occupations	6	4	6
Law enforcement workers	2	3	4
Police officers	2	3	4
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	2	3	4
Other protective service workers	3	1	1
Security guards and gaming surveillance officers	3	1	1
Security guards	3	1	1
Food preparation and serving related occupations	1	1	1
Food and beverage serving workers	-	1	1
Fast food and counter workers	-	1	1
Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop	-	1	1
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	7	10	14
Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	-	2	3
First-line supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	-	2	3
First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers	-	1	1
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers	-	1	1
Grounds maintenance workers	6	8	11
Grounds maintenance workers	6	8	11
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	3	6	9
Sales and related occupations	6	-	-
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing	-	1	1
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing	-	1	1
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products	-	1	1
Office and administrative support occupations	-	4	6
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	-	3	4
Stock clerks and order fillers	-	1	1
Stock clerks and order fillers	-	1	1
Secretaries and administrative assistants	-	1	1
Secretaries and administrative assistants	-	1	1
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive	-	1	1
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	3	-	-
Agricultural workers	-	2	3
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	-	2	3
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	-	2	3
Construction and extraction occupations	11	13	19
Construction trades workers	7	11	16
Construction laborers	3	4	6
Construction laborers	3	4	6
Electricians	-	2	3
Electricians	-	2	3
Roofers	-	2	3
Roofers	-	2	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	5	7
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	4	6
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers	-	1	1
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers	-	1	1
Transportation and material moving occupations	20	15	21
Motor vehicle operators	16	8	11
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	15	6	9
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	12	6	9
Material moving workers	3	4	6
Laborers and material movers, hand	-	3	4
Packers and packagers, hand	-	1	1
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. Total may include occupations not shown. (2) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Maryland, 2011-2012

Worker characteristics	2011(1)	2012(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	71	70	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(2)	56	50	71
Self-employed(3)	15	20	29
Gender
Men	65	64	91
Women	6	6	9
Age(4)
Under 16 years	-	1	1
18 to 19 years	-	2	3
20 to 24 years	4	3	4
25 to 34 years	14	14	20
35 to 44 years	17	9	13
45 to 54 years	13	13	19
55 to 64 years	13	17	24
65 and over	10	11	16
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White (non-Hispanic)	33	37	53
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	27	18	26
Hispanic or Latino	8	13	19
Footnotes: (1) Data for 2011 are revised and final. (2) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (3) 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. (4) Information may not be available for all age groups. (5) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers. (p) Data for 2012 are preliminary. Revised and final 2012 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2014.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.