Fatal work injuries totaled 24 in 2016 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 the number of work-related fatalities in the Richmond area increased by seven over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the area have ranged from a high of 30 in 2005 to a low of 13 in 2013. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2016, a 7-percent increase from the 4,836 fatal injuries reported in 2015, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. This was the third consecutive increase in annual workplace fatalities and the first time more than 5,000 fatalities have been recorded since 2008.

Type of incident

In the Richmond area, violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 12 fatal work injuries and transportation incidents accounted for 7 workplace fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 79 percent of all workplace fatalities in the Richmond area. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased by 11 over the year and the number of worker fatalities due to transportation incidents was little changed. Contact with objects and equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with three fatalities, compared to four in the previous year.

Nationally, transportation incidents remained the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2016, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent type of event, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities, followed by falls, slips, or trips (16 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (15 percent).

Industry

The private transportation and warehousing industry and accommodation and food services industry sectors had the largest number of fatalities in the Richmond area with five each. The number of fatalities in transportation and warehousing was unchanged from the previous year. (See table 2.) Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles was the most frequent fatal event in the private transportation and warehousing sector with four worker deaths, while in the private accommodation and food services sector, intentional injury by person accounted for all five fatalities.

The retail trade sector within private industry had four workplace fatalities, all as a result of homicides.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations and sales and related occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with seven and four, respectively. (See table 3.) Five of the 7 fatalities within the transportation and material moving group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. First-line supervisors of retail sales workers accounted for all of the fatalities among sales and related occupations.

Contracted Workers

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 2016, the Richmond area had one fatally-injured worker identified as fitting the contracted worker criteria.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 96 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Richmond area, slightly higher than the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) The most frequent fatal event for men in the Richmond area was violence and other injuries by persons or animals (12) followed by transportation incidents (7).
• White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 65 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths. The share of fatalities among black or African-American non-Hispanic workers was 24 percent in the Richmond area and 10 percent nationwide.
• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 63 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2016, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 24 fatally-injured workers in the Richmond area, 83 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder 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.
• Twenty-nine percent of workplace fatalities in the Richmond area occurred on a Friday. This day accounted for 16 percent of workplace fatalities nationally.

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. Nationwide, for the 2016 data, over 23,300 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 website at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, even those that may be outside the scope of other agencies or 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. More on the scope of CFOI can be found at www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm.

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.

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, Bulletin Number 13-01, February 2013. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

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

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.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Richmond, VA, 2015-16

Event or exposure (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	17	24	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	1	12	50
Intentional injury by person	1	12	50
Homicides	1	8	33
Shooting by other person—intentional	-	7	29
Suicides	-	4	17
Transportation incidents	8	7	29
Pedestrian vehicular incident	-	1	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	-	1	4
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	-	1	4
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	6	5	21
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	5	4	17
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	5	4	17
Roadway noncollision incident	-	1	4
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	-	1	4
Contact with objects and equipment	4	3	13
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 final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. 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, Richmond, VA, 2015-16

Industry (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	17	24	100
Private industry	16	23	96
Goods producing	4	3	13
Manufacturing	1	1	4
Primary metal manufacturing	1	1	4
Alumina and aluminum production and processing	1	1	4
Alumina and aluminum production and processing	1	1	4
Service providing	12	20	83
Trade, transportation, and utilities	7	10	42
Retail trade	-	4	17
Food and beverage stores	-	3	13
Grocery stores	-	3	13
Convenience stores	-	3	13
General merchandise stores	-	1	4
Other general merchandise stores	-	1	4
Transportation and warehousing	5	5	21
Truck transportation	3	4	17
General freight trucking	3	2	8
General freight trucking, local	-	1	4
General freight trucking, long-distance	3	1	4
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload	-	1	4
Warehousing and storage	-	1	4
Warehousing and storage	-	1	4
General warehousing and storage	-	1	4
Financial activities	-	1	4
Real estate and rental and leasing	-	1	4
Rental and leasing services	-	1	4
Consumer goods rental	-	1	4
Other consumer goods rental	-	1	4
Professional and business services	4	3	13
Professional, scientific, and technical services	-	1	4
Professional, scientific, and technical services	-	1	4
Computer systems design and related services	-	1	4
Computer systems design and related services	-	1	4
Computer systems design services	-	1	4
Leisure and hospitality	-	5	21
Accommodation and food services	-	5	21
Accommodation	-	1	4
Traveler accommodation	-	1	4
Hotels (except casino hotels) and motels	-	1	4
Food services and drinking places	-	4	17
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	-	1	4
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	-	1	4
Restaurants and other eating places	-	3	13
Restaurants and other eating places	-	3	13
Full-service restaurants	-	2	8
Government (2)	1	1	4
State government	1	1	4
Service providing	1	1	4
Public administration	1	1	4
Justice, public order, and safety activities	1	1	4
Justice, public order, and safety activities	1	1	4
Police protection	1	1	4
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Includes all fatal occupational injuries meeting this ownership criterion across all specified years, regardless of industry classification system.
Note: Data for all years are 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, Richmond, VA, 2015-16

Occupation (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	17	24	100
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	-	-	-
Management, business, and financial occupations	-	1	4
Management occupations	-	1	4
Operations specialties managers	-	1	4
Administrative services managers	-	1	4
Administrative services managers	-	1	4
Service occupations	5	5	21
Protective service occupations	1	2	8
Law enforcement workers	1	1	4
Police officers	1	1	4
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	1	1	4
Other protective service workers	-	1	4
Security guards and gaming surveillance officers	-	1	4
Security guards	-	1	4
Food preparation and serving related occupations	-	-	-
Cooks	-	1	4
Cooks	-	1	4
Sales and office occupations	1	6	25
Sales and related occupations	1	4	17
Supervisors, sales workers	1	4	17
First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers	1	4	17
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	1	4	17
Office and administrative support occupations	-	-	-
Information and record clerks	-	1	4
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	-	1	4
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	-	1	4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	4	4	17
Construction and extraction occupations	-	1	4
Construction trades workers	-	1	4
Construction equipment operators	-	1	4
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	-	1	4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	-	3	13
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	7	7	29
Transportation and material moving occupations	6	7	29
Motor vehicle operators	6	6	25
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	4	6	25
Driver/sales workers	-	1	4
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	3	5	21
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010.
Note: Data for all years are 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, Richmond, VA, 2015-16

Worker characteristic	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	17	24	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	11	20	83
Self-employed (2)	6	4	17
Gender
Women	1	1	4
Men	16	23	96
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	-	3	13
25 to 34 years	1	6	25
35 to 44 years	3	6	25
45 to 54 years	4	3	13
55 to 64 years	5	5	21
65 years and over	-	1	4
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White (non-Hispanic)	11	11	46
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	4	7	29
Asian (non-Hispanic)	-	5	21
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) Information may not be available for all age groups. (4) 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 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.