Fatal work injuries totaled 13 in 2013 for the Richmond, Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area, 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 the Richmond area declined by 14 over the year and was the lowest count since area data were first published in 2003. Fatal occupational injuries in the area were the highest in 2005 with 30 worker deaths. (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 13 fatal work injuries reported in the Richmond area in 2013, violence and other injuries by persons or animals and transportation incidents each accounted for 5 worker deaths; together, these two event categories represented over three-fourths of the area’s workplace fatalities. (Note that transportation counts presented 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.) The count of fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals was little changed over the year, and homicide was the most frequent event within this category, accounting for 4 of the 5 worker deaths in 2013. Transportation incidents decreased from 11 in 2012 to 5 in 2013. Within the transportation incidents category, roadway incidents involving a motorized land vehicle was the most frequent type of workplace fatality in the Richmond area with three deaths. (See table 1.)  

In the United States, transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2013, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. The Richmond area’s share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was similar at 38 percent. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent event nationally with 17 percent of workplace fatalities; Richmond’s share was higher at 38 percent. Contact with objects and equipment and falls, slips, or trips each accounted for 16 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities.

 

Additional key characteristics in the Richmond area:

• The construction sector had the largest number of fatalities in the Richmond area with four, identical to the count in 2012. (See table 2.)
• Construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities in the Richmond area with four. Three of these fatalities were first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers. (See table 3.)
• Men accounted for 77 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Richmond area; men made up 93 percent nationwide. (See table 4.) In Richmond, the most frequent fatal event for men was transportation incidents, while violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for the most deaths among women.
• In the Richmond area, 46 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were non-Hispanic black or African Americans workers; nationally, this group was considerably lower at nine percent. Non-Hispanic white workers accounted for 31 percent of the area’s fatal injuries, substantially lower than the 68-percent share nationwide.  
• Workers 55-64 years old had six fatalities, the largest number among the different age groups, accounting for 46 percent of the area’s total fatalities. In the United States, workers in this age group accounted for 20 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Of the 13 fatally-injured workers in the area, 77 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both wage and salary workers and the self-employed was violence and other injuries by persons or animals.
• The highest number of fatal workplace injuries in the Richmond area occurred on Thursday, with 38 percent of all worker fatalities in the area occurring on this day. Nationally, fatalities on this day represented 16 percent of the total.

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 Virginia Department of Labor and Industry 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.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated December 2009. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at https://www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Richmond, Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of Amelia, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, King and Queen, King William, Louisa, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George, and Sussex Counties in Virginia; and Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg, and Richmond Cities in Virginia.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Richmond, VA, 2012-2013

Event or exposure(1)	2012(2)	2013(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	27	13	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	6	5	38
Intentional injury by person	6	5	38
Homicides	3	4	31
Shooting by other person--intentional	3	3	23
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	-	1	8
Transportation incidents	11	5	38
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	10	3	23
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	1	8
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	3	1	8
Roadway noncollision incident	-	2	15
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	-	1	8
Struck by shifting load during transport, roadway	-	1	8
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 industry, Richmond, VA, 2012-2013

Industry(1)	2012(2)	2013(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	27	13	100
Private industry	22	12	92
Goods-producing	6	6	46
Natural resources and mining	-	-	-
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	-	-	-
Forestry and logging	-	1	8
Logging	-	1	8
Logging	-	1	8
Construction	4	4	31
Construction	4	4	31
Construction of buildings	1	-	-
Nonresidential building construction	-	2	15
Commercial and institutional building construction	-	2	15
Specialty trade contractors	3	1	8
Other specialty trade contractors	-	1	8
Site preparation contractors	-	1	8
Service-providing	16	6	46
Trade, transportation, and utilities	12	3	23
Wholesale trade	-	1	8
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	-	1	8
Chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers	-	1	8
Plastics materials and basic forms and shapes merchant wholesalers	-	1	8
Retail trade	5	1	8
Food and beverage stores	2	1	8
Grocery stores	2	1	8
Convenience stores	2	1	8
Financial activities	-	1	8
Real estate and rental and leasing	-	1	8
Real estate	-	1	8
Lessors of real estate	-	1	8
Lessors of residential buildings and dwellings	-	1	8
Leisure and hospitality	-	-	-
Accommodation and food services	-	-	-
Food services and drinking places	-	-	-
Limited-service eating places	-	1	8
Limited-service eating places	-	1	8
Limited-service restaurants	-	1	8
Government(3)	5	1	8
State government	1	1	8
Service-providing	1	1	8
Public administration	1	1	8
Public administration	1	1	8
Justice, public order, and safety activities	1	1	8
Justice, public order, and safety activities	1	1	8
Police protection	1	1	8
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 occupation, Richmond,VA, 2012-2013

Occupation(1)	2012(2)	2013(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	27	13	100
Protective service occupations	2	1	8
Law enforcement workers	2	1	8
Police officers	2	1	8
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	2	1	8
Food preparation and serving related occupations	-	-	-
Supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	-	1	8
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	-	1	8
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	-	1	8
Sales and related occupations	5	1	8
Supervisors of sales workers	4	1	8
First-line supervisors of sales workers	4	1	8
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	4	1	8
Construction and extraction occupations	4	4	31
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	-	3	23
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	-	3	23
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	-	3	23
Construction trades workers	4	1	8
Construction laborers	-	1	8
Construction laborers	-	1	8
Production occupations	-	1	8
Supervisors of production workers	-	1	8
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	-	1	8
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	-	1	8
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. (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, Richmond, VA, 2012-2013

Worker characteristics	2012(1)	2013(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	27	13	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(2)	21	10	77
Self-employed(3)	6	3	23
Gender
Men	27	10	77
Women	-	3	23
Age(4)
20 to 24 years	3	1	8
35 to 44 years	2	3	23
45 to 54 years	7	2	15
55 to 64 years	8	6	46
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White (non-Hispanic)	13	4	31
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	9	6	46
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.