Fatal work injuries totaled 78 in 2013 for Maryland, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2013 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Maryland rose by six over the year and was the highest count since 2007 when 82 fatalities were recorded. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 106 in 2006 to a low of 60 in 2008. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,405 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2013, lower than the revised count of 4,628 fatal work injuries in 2012, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2013 data from CFOI will be released in the late spring of 2015.

 

Of the 78 fatal work injuries reported in Maryland in 2013, 22 resulted from transportation incidents, compared with 24 in the prior year. (Note that transportation counts presented in this release are expected to rise when updated 2013 data are released in the late spring of 2015 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 17 worker deaths each. Fatalities from violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased from 15 in 2012; fatal falls, slips, or trips increased from 14. The fourth-largest major fatal event category in the state in 2013 was contact with objects and equipment, accounting for 12 fatalities. Together, these four major categories accounted for 87 percent of all workplace deaths in the state. (See table 1.)

Within transportation incidents, half of the fatal injuries were caused by pedestrian vehicular incidents. In the violence and other injuries by persons or animals category, nine deaths were homicides and seven were suicides. Of the 17 worker fatalities caused by falls, slips, or trips, 14 were a result of a fall to a lower level. In the contact with objects and equipment category, 9 of the 12 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 2013, accounting for 40 percent of all workplace deaths nationwide and 28 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 (22 percent each). Contact with objects and equipment and falls, slips, or trips each accounted for 16 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities, while in Maryland contact with objects and equipment caused 15 percent of worker deaths.

 

Additional key characteristics in Maryland:

• Government had the largest number of fatalities in the state with 19, compared to 8 in 2012. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for five of the 2013 worker deaths in this industry, followed by transportation incidents with four fatalities. The majority of the fatalities were federal government workers (10).
• The construction industry sector had the second-highest fatality count with 18, compared to 17 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, or trips were responsible for 6 of the 18 fatalities, followed by contact with objects and equipment with 5 fatalities. Specialty trade contractors accounted for over half of the worker deaths in this industry in 2013.
• Construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities in Maryland with 17. (See table 3.) Six of these fatalities were a result of falls, slips, or trips. Workers in transportation and material moving occupations had the next-highest fatality count at 14, followed by management occupations with 10 fatalities.
• Men accounted for 95 percent of the work-related fatalities in the state, similar to their 93-percent share nationally. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 30 percent of fatalities among men in Maryland, while violence and other injuries by persons or animals and falls, slips, or trips each accounted for 22 percent.
• In Maryland, 55 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics, a smaller share than the 68 percent nationwide. However, 23 percent of fatally-injured workers in the state were black or African-American non-Hispanics, while this group accounted for 9 percent of work-related deaths in the nation. Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 18 percent of workplace fatalities in Maryland, the same as in the U.S. as a whole.
• Workers born in the United States accounted for 73 percent of the fatalities recorded in Maryland for 2013. Among the 21 foreign born workers that were fatally injured at work, the largest group (9) were originally from El Salvador.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 56 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2013; nationally, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of total workplace fatalities. In Maryland, the single age group with the largest number of fatal injuries was 55-64 years old with over one-quarter of the state’s total fatalities.
• Of the 78 fatally-injured workers in Maryland, 79 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, the most frequent event was falls, trips, or slips.
• 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 2013, Maryland had 12 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria; 9 were in the private sector and 2 were in state government. Of these 12 fatalities, 5 occurred at the location of contracting firms in in the construction industry.

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, 2012-2013

Event or exposure(1)	2012(2)	2013(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	72	78	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	15	17	22
Intentional injury by person	12	16	21
Homicides	5	9	12
Shooting by other person--intentional	4	6	8
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	1	1	1
Bombing, arson	-	2	3
Suicides	7	7	9
Shooting--intentional self-harm	6	3	4
Transportation incidents	24	22	28
Pedestrian vehicular incident	5	11	14
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in work zone	-	4	5
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in work zone	-	4	5
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	3	4	5
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	-	4	5
Pedestrian struck by vehicle on side of road	-	1	1
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle on side of road	-	1	1
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	12	7	9
Roadway collision with other vehicle	6	5	6
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	-	2	3
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	-	2	3
Nonroadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	4	4	5
Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle	-	1	1
Part of occupant's body caught between vehicle and other object in nonroadway transport incident	-	1	1
Nonroadway noncollision incident	4	3	4
Fires and explosions	-	3	4
Fires	-	-	-
Other structural fire without collapse	-	1	1
Explosions	-	1	1
Explosion of pressure vessel, piping, or tire	-	1	1
Falls, slips, trips	14	17	22
Falls on same level	-	-	-
Fall on same level due to slipping	-	1	1
Falls to lower level	14	14	18
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	3	1	1
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment more than 30 feet	-	1	1
Other fall to lower level	9	11	14
Other fall to lower level less than 6 feet	-	3	4
Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet	-	1	1
Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet	2	4	5
Other fall to lower level 21 to 25 feet	1	1	1
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	4	1	1
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	8	7	9
Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.	2	2	3
Drowning, submersion, n.e.c.	2	2	3
Contact with objects and equipment	11	12	15
Struck by object or equipment	10	9	12
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	3	4	5
Struck by falling object or equipment	4	4	5
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	1	1	1
Caught in running equipment or machinery	-	1	1
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation	-	1	1
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	-	2	3
Excavation or trenching cave-in	-	1	1
Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment	-	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 2012 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2013 are preliminary. Revised and final 2013 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2015.
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 selected* industry, Maryland, 2012-2013

Industry(1)	2012(2)	2013(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	72	78	100
Private industry	64	59	76
Natural resources and mining	5	5	6
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	5	5	6
Crop production	1	3	4
Animal production	-	2	3
Construction	17	18	23
Construction	17	18	23
Construction of buildings	5	5	6
Heavy and civil engineering construction	4	2	3
Specialty trade contractors	8	10	13
Manufacturing	5	1	1
Manufacturing	5	1	1
Wood product manufacturing	-	1	1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	18	13	17
Wholesale trade	-	4	5
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	-	3	4
Retail trade	4	4	5
Furniture and home furnishings stores	-	2	3
Miscellaneous store retailers	-	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	12	5	6
Truck transportation	7	3	4
Transit and ground passenger transportation	-	1	1
Professional and business services	9	8	10
Administrative and waste services	8	7	9
Administrative and support services	7	6	8
Leisure and hospitality	4	6	8
Accommodation and food services	3	6	8
Accommodation	-	1	1
Food services and drinking places	3	5	6
Other services, except public administration	2	6	8
Other services, except public administration	2	6	8
Repair and maintenance	-	4	5
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations	2	1	1
Government(3)	8	19	24
Federal government	-	10	13
State government	-	1	1
Local government	5	8	10
* For full table detail, see www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/fatalworkinjuries_maryland_table.htm
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown. (2) Data for 2012 are revised and final. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. (p) Data for 2013 are preliminary. Revised and final 2013 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2015.
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 selected occupation, Maryland, 2012-2013

Occupation(1)	2012(2)	2013(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	72	78	100
Management occupations	6	10	13
Other management occupations	6	10	13
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	2	5	6
Food service managers	1	2	3
Community and social services occupations	1	1	1
Religious workers	1	1	1
Clergy	1	1	1
Protective service occupations	4	7	9
Supervisors of protective service workers	-	2	3
First-line supervisors of fire fighting and prevention workers	-	1	1
Miscellaneous first-line supervisors, protective service workers	-	1	1
Fire fighting and prevention workers	-	1	1
Firefighters	-	1	1
Law enforcement workers	3	2	3
Police officers	3	2	3
Other protective service workers	1	2	3
Security guards and gaming surveillance officers	1	1	1
Miscellaneous protective service workers	-	1	1
Food preparation and serving related occupations	-	2	3
Supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	-	1	1
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	-	1	1
Cooks	-	1	1
Cooks	-	1	1
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	10	4	5
Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	2	1	1
First-line supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	2	1	1
Grounds maintenance workers	8	3	4
Grounds maintenance workers	8	3	4
Sales and related occupations	-	4	5
Supervisors of sales workers	-	2	3
First-line supervisors of sales workers	-	2	3
Retail sales workers	-	1	1
Cashiers	-	1	1
Office and administrative support occupations	4	2	3
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	3	2	3
Postal service workers	-	2	3
Construction and extraction occupations	15	17	22
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	3	4	5
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	3	4	5
Construction trades workers	12	10	13
Carpenters	-	3	4
Construction laborers	5	3	4
Structural iron and steel workers	-	1	1
Other construction and related workers	-	3	4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	8	10
Electrical and electronic equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	-	1	1
Radio and telecommunications equipment installers and repairers	-	1	1
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	-	3	4
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4	4	5
Maintenance and repair workers, general	-	3	4
Miscellaneous installation, maintenance, and repair workers	-	1	1
Transportation and material moving occupations	14	14	18
Motor vehicle operators	8	9	12
Bus drivers	-	1	1
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	6	7	9
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	-	1	1
Material moving workers	4	5	6
Industrial truck and tractor operators	-	1	1
Laborers and material movers, hand	3	3	4
Military occupations3	-	4	5
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. Total may include occupations not shown. (2) Data for 2012 are revised and final. (3) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed. (p) Data for 2013 are preliminary. Revised and final 2013 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2015.
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, 2012-2013

Worker characteristics	2012(1)	2013(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	72	78	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(2)	52	62	79
Self-employed(3)	20	16	21
Gender
Men	66	74	95
Women	6	4	5
Age(4)
18-19 years	2	1	1
20 to 24 years	3	7	9
25 to 34 years	14	12	15
35 to 44 years	9	19	24
45 to 54 years	15	13	17
55 to 64 years	17	21	27
65 and over	11	5	6
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White (non-Hispanic)	37	43	55
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	18	18	23
Hispanic or Latino	15	14	18
Asian (non-Hispanic)	-	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Data for 2012 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 2013 are preliminary. Revised and final 2013 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2015.
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.