Fatal work injuries totaled 106 in 2015 for Virginia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Virginia decreased by 10 from the previous year and was the lowest level on record. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 186 in 2005 to a low of 106 in 2015. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2015, a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries in 2014, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Virginia, transportation incidents resulted in 36 fatal work injuries while falls, trips, or slips and contact with objects and equipment each accounted for 20 fatalities. These three major categories accounted for 72 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents decreased from 52 over the year while worker fatalities due to falls, trips, or slips and contact with objects and equipment both increased slightly.

Exposure to harmful substances or environments was the fourth-most frequent fatal work event with 15 fatalities, more than double the count for 2014, followed by violence and other injures by persons or animals with 13. Seven of the exposure to harmful substances or environments fatalities were the result of unintentional overdoses at work, while homicides and suicides each accounted for six of the deaths within violence and other injures by persons or animals. Nationally, transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2015, accounting for approximately 42 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities, followed by contact with objects and equipment (15 percent) and violence and other injuries by persons or animals (15 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in Virginia with 25. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the most frequent fatal event in the construction sector with 12 worker deaths, followed by exposure to harmful substances or environments with 7 fatalities. Sixty-eight percent of those fatally injured in this sector worked in specialty trade contracting.

The private transportation and warehousing sector had 18 workplace fatalities, lower than count in the previous year (25 worker deaths). Long-distance general freight trucking accounted for half of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations and construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 29 and 20, respectively. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within the transportation and material moving group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, with 22 worker deaths. Construction trades workers accounted for 17 of the 20 fatalities among construction and extraction workers.

Contracted Workers

A contracted worker 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 2015, Virginia had 13 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contracted worker criteria; of those, 5 were the result of falls to a lower level and 3 were the result of exposure to electricity.

Additional highlights:

• Men accounted for 92 percent of the work-related fatalities in Virginia, similar to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 34 percent of the fatalities for men in Virginia.
• White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 74 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 58 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2015, similar to the national share of 57 percent.
• Of the 106 fatally-injured workers in Virginia, 76 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both groups of workers was transportation incidents.

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 ensures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. For the 2015 data, over 21,400 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for CFOI, 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 provided 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 industrial relations and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

Information in this release is available to sensory-impaired individuals. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Virginia, 2014-15

Event or exposure (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	116	106	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	20	13	12
Intentional injury by person	20	12	11
Homicides	14	6	6
Shooting by other person—intentional	11	3	3
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	-	2	2
Strangulation by other person	1	1	1
Suicides	6	6	6
Shooting—intentional self-harm	3	3	3
Transportation incidents	52	36	34
Rail vehicle incidents	1	1	1
Pedestrian struck by rail vehicle—transportation incident	1	1	1
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	32	27	25
Roadway collision with other vehicle	10	5	5
Roadway collision moving in opposite directions, oncoming	-	3	3
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	18	18	17
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	17	18	17
Roadway noncollision incident	4	4	4
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	-	4	4
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	6	7	7
Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	3	3
Nonroadway noncollision incident	3	2	2
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	-	2	2
Fall, slip, trip	18	20	19
Fall to lower level	15	17	16
Other fall to lower level	12	16	15
Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet	-	3	3
Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet	-	1	1
Other fall to lower level 26 to 30 feet	1	5	5
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	1	3	3
Fall or jump curtailed by personal fall arrest system	-	1	1
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	7	15	14
Exposure to electricity	3	3	3
Indirect exposure to electricity	1	1	1
Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts	1	1	1
Exposure to temperature extremes	-	3	3
Exposure to environmental heat	-	3	3
Exposure to other harmful substances	3	7	7
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol unintentional overdose	-	7	7
Exposure to oxygen deficiency	-	2	2
Drowning, submersion, n.e.c.	-	2	2
Contact with objects and equipment	19	20	19
Struck by object or equipment	15	15	14
Struck by powered vehicle nontransport	5	3	3
Struck by falling part of powered vehicle still attached	-	3	3
Struck by falling object or equipment	8	8	8
Struck by discharged or flying object	1	1	1
Struck by dislodged flying object, particle	1	1	1
Injured by handheld object or equipment	-	2	2
Injured by slipping or swinging object held by injured worker	-	2	2
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	4	3	3
Caught in running equipment or machinery	4	3	3
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation	-	3	3
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	-	1	1
Engulfment in other collapsing material	-	1	1
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.
Note: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Virginia, 2014-15

Industry (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	116	106	100
Private industry	100	100	94
Goods producing	43	49	46
Natural resources and mining	11	13	12
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	8	10	9
Crop production	-	2	2
Other crop farming	-	1	1
Tobacco farming	-	1	1
Animal production and aquaculture	3	2	2
Cattle ranching and farming	1	2	2
Dairy cattle and milk production	1	1	1
Forestry and logging	-	5	5
Logging	-	5	5
Logging	-	5	5
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (2)	3	3	3
Mining (except oil and gas)	3	3	3
Coal mining	2	1	1
Coal mining	2	1	1
Bituminous coal and lignite surface mining	-	1	1
Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying	1	2	2
Stone mining and quarrying	-	2	2
Crushed and broken granite mining and quarrying	-	2	2
Construction	24	25	24
Construction of buildings	5	4	4
Residential building construction	3	3	3
Residential building construction	3	3	3
Residential remodelers	1	1	1
Heavy and civil engineering construction	3	4	4
Utility system construction	1	3	3
Water and sewer line and related structures construction	1	1	1
Power and communication line and related structures construction	-	2	2
Highway, street, and bridge construction	-	1	1
Highway, street, and bridge construction	-	1	1
Specialty trade contractors	15	17	16
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	3	7	7
Masonry contractors	1	1	1
Nonresidential masonry contractors	-	1	1
Roofing contractors	-	6	6
Residential roofing contractors	-	3	3
Building equipment contractors	4	5	5
Nonresidential plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors	-	1	1
Finish carpentry contractors	-	1	1
Other specialty trade contractors	6	3	3
Site preparation contractors	3	3	3
Nonresidential site preparation contractors	-	2	2
Manufacturing	8	11	10
Wood product manufacturing	2	1	1
Sawmills and wood preservation	2	1	1
Sawmills and wood preservation	2	1	1
Sawmills	2	1	1
Paper manufacturing	-	-	-
Converted paper product manufacturing	-	-	-
Paperboard container manufacturing	-	-	-
Corrugated and solid fiber box manufacturing	-	1	1
Plastics and rubber products manufacturing	-	3	3
Rubber product manufacturing	-	3	3
Tire manufacturing	-	2	2
Tire manufacturing (except retreading)	-	2	2
Primary metal manufacturing	-	1	1
Alumina and aluminum production and processing	-	1	1
Alumina and aluminum production and processing	-	1	1
Aluminum sheet, plate, and foil manufacturing	-	1	1
Transportation equipment manufacturing	1	1	1
Ship and boat building	1	1	1
Ship and boat building	1	1	1
Ship building and repairing	-	1	1
Service providing	57	51	48
Trade, transportation, and utilities	34	23	22
Wholesale trade	3	1	1
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	3	1	1
Machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers	-	1	1
Construction and mining (except oil well) machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers	1	1	1
Retail trade	6	4	4
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	1	2	2
Automobile dealers	-	1	1
Used car dealers	-	1	1
Other motor vehicle dealers	-	1	1
Motorcycle, boat, and other motor vehicle dealers	-	1	1
Boat dealers	-	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	25	18	17
Truck transportation	17	15	14
General freight trucking	12	12	11
General freight trucking, local	-	3	3
General freight trucking, long-distance	10	9	8
Specialized freight trucking	5	3	3
Couriers and messengers	-	1	1
Couriers and express delivery services	-	1	1
Couriers and express delivery services	-	1	1
Information	-	3	3
Broadcasting (except internet)	-	2	2
Radio and television broadcasting	-	2	2
Television broadcasting	-	2	2
Telecommunications	-	1	1
Wired telecommunications carriers	-	1	1
Wired telecommunications carriers	-	1	1
Financial activities	-	1	1
Real estate and rental and leasing	-	1	1
Real estate	-	1	1
Lessors of real estate	-	1	1
Lessors of miniwarehouses and self-storage units	-	1	1
Professional and business services	12	11	10
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	10	10	9
Administrative and support services	10	9	8
Services to buildings and dwellings	9	7	7
Landscaping services	8	7	7
Educational and health services	-	1	1
Health care and social assistance	-	1	1
Nursing and residential care facilities	-	1	1
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities)	-	1	1
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities)	-	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	6	9	8
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	1	-	-
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	-	-	-
Other amusement and recreation industries	-	1	1
Accommodation and food services	5	7	7
Food services and drinking places	5	5	5
Restaurants and other eating places	3	5	5
Restaurants and other eating places	3	5	5
Full-service restaurants	1	3	3
Limited-service restaurants	1	1	1
Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars	1	1	1
Other services, except public administration	3	3	3
Repair and maintenance	1	-	-
Automotive repair and maintenance	-	1	1
Automotive body, paint, interior, and glass repair	-	1	1
Automotive body, paint, and interior repair and maintenance	-	1	1
Personal and laundry services	-	1	1
Personal care services	-	1	1
Hair, nail, and skin care services	-	1	1
Barber shops	-	1	1
Government (3)	16	6	6
Federal government	11	2	2
Service providing	11	2	2
Public administration	11	2	2
National security and international affairs	11	2	2
National security and international affairs	11	2	2
National security	11	2	2
State government	-	2	2
Service providing	-	2	2
Public administration	-	2	2
Justice, public order, and safety activities	-	2	2
Justice, public order, and safety activities	-	2	2
Police protection	-	1	1
Correctional institutions	-	1	1
Local government	5	-	-
Service providing	5	-	-
Public administration	4	1	1
Justice, public order, and safety activities	3	1	1
Justice, public order, and safety activities	3	1	1
Police protection	3	1	1
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (Sector 21) in the North American Industry Classification System, including establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in Oil and Gas Extraction. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.
Note: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Virginia, 2014-15

Occupation (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	116	106	100
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	12	10	9
Management, business, and financial occupations	8	5	5
Management occupations	6	5	5
Other management occupations	6	5	5
Agricultural managers	3	3	3
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	3	3	3
Professional and related occupations	4	5	5
Architecture and engineering occupations	-	-	-
Drafters, engineering, and mapping technicians	-	1	1
Engineering technicians, except drafters	-	1	1
Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations	-	2	2
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	-	2	2
Media and communication workers	-	1	1
News analysts, reporters and correspondents	-	1	1
Reporters and correspondents	-	1	1
Media and communication equipment workers	-	1	1
Photographers	-	1	1
Photographers	-	1	1
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	1	1	1
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners	-	1	1
Registered nurses	-	1	1
Registered nurses	-	1	1
Service occupations	16	17	16
Protective service occupations	4	4	4
Law enforcement workers	3	2	2
Detectives and criminal investigators	-	1	1
Detectives and criminal investigators	-	1	1
Police officers	3	1	1
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	3	1	1
Food preparation and serving related occupations	2	3	3
Supervisors, food preparation and serving workers	1	3	3
First-line supervisors/managers, food preparation and serving workers	1	3	3
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	1	3	3
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	9	8	8
Grounds maintenance workers	7	7	7
Grounds maintenance workers	7	7	7
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	-	3	3
Tree trimmers and pruners	6	4	4
Personal care and service occupations	1	2	2
Supervisors, personal care and service workers	-	1	1
First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers	-	1	1
First-line supervisors of personal service workers	-	1	1
Personal appearance workers	-	1	1
Barbers and cosmetologists	-	1	1
Barbers	-	1	1
Sales and office occupations	7	4	4
Sales and related occupations	5	-	-
Supervisors, sales workers	4	1	1
First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers	4	1	1
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	4	1	1
Office and administrative support occupations	2	-	-
Supervisors of office and administrative support workers	-	1	1
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers	-	1	1
First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers	-	1	1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	32	36	34
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	4	5	5
Forest, conservation, and logging workers	-	3	3
Logging workers	-	3	3
Fallers	-	3	3
Construction and extraction occupations	21	20	19
Construction trades workers	13	17	16
Construction laborers	3	3	3
Construction laborers	3	3	3
Electricians	3	3	3
Electricians	3	3	3
Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	-	1	1
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	-	1	1
Roofers	-	6	6
Roofers	-	6	6
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	7	11	10
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	4	5	5
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics	-	3	3
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	5	5
Line installers and repairers	-	3	3
Electrical power-line installers and repairers	-	1	1
Telecommunications line installers and repairers	-	2	2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	39	37	35
Production occupations	4	8	8
Machinists	-	1	1
Machinists	-	1	1
Other production occupations	-	6	6
Crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and blending workers	-	1	1
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders	-	1	1
Miscellaneous production workers	-	4	4
Tire builders	-	2	2
Transportation and material moving occupations	35	29	27
Motor vehicle operators	30	27	25
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	27	24	23
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	24	22	21
Material moving workers	-	-	-
Industrial truck and tractor operators	-	1	1
Industrial truck and tractor operators	-	1	1
Military occupations (2)	10	2	2
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (2) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.
Note: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Virginia, 2014-15

Worker characteristics	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	116	106	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	92	81	76
Self-employed (2)	24	25	24
Gender
Women	6	8	8
Men	110	98	92
Age
18 to 19 years	-	3	3
20 to 24 years	14	9	8
25 to 34 years	17	17	16
35 to 44 years	19	21	20
45 to 54 years	26	23	22
55 to 64 years	27	22	21
65 years and over	12	11	10
Race or ethnic origin (3)
White (non-Hispanic)	83	78	74
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	21	18	17
Hispanic or Latino	9	9	8
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (2) 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. (3) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude data for Hispanics and Latinos.
Note: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.