Fatal Work Injuries in the Washington, DC Area — 2016

Fatal work injuries totaled 66 in 2016 for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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 Washington metropolitan area increased by 23 from the previous year’s record low and reached its highest level since 2013. Fatal occupational injuries in the metropolitan area have ranged from a high of 99 in 2005 to a low of 43 in 2015. (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.

Chart 1. Total fatal occupational injuries, Washington Metropolitan Statistical area, 2007-2016

In 2016, the Washington metropolitan area had the sixth-largest population nationally(1) and had the second-lowest number of work-related fatalities among the 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. (See table 1 and chart 2.) The most populated metropolitan area in the country—New York—had the highest number of workplace fatalities (222) in 2016. The smallest of the 10 metropolitan areas—Boston—had the seventh-highest fatality count with 75 deaths.

Chart 2. Total fatal occupational injuries in the 10 largest metropolitan areas, 2016

Type of incident

In the Washington metropolitan area, violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the most frequent fatal event, resulting in 19 fatal work injuries during 2016, an increase of nine from the previous year. (See table 1 and table 2.) The share of total fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals in Washington (29 percent) was exceeded only in Los Angeles (31 percent).

Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of fatal incident in the Washington metropolitan area, accounting for 16 fatalities, followed by transportation incidents with 14 fatalities. The Washington area’s share of total fatalities due to falls, slips, or trips (24 percent) ranked fifth among the 10 largest areas. Washington’s 21-percent share of total fatalities from transportation incidents ranked second-lowest among the 10 largest areas; only Boston’s was lower (19 percent).

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).

Chart 3. Fatal occupational injuries by selected event, United States and Washington metropolitan area, 2016

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in the Washington metropolitan area with 19, compared to 12 in the previous year. (See table 3.) Falls to a lower level was the most frequent fatal event in the construction sector with 11 worker deaths. Fourteen of those fatally injured in this sector worked in specialty trade contracting.

The private transportation and warehousing sector had 10 workplace fatalities, half of which were in general freight trucking. The private administrative and support and waste management and remediation services followed with eight fatalities; five of these were in landscaping services.

Occupation

Construction and extraction occupations and transportation and material moving occupations had the highest numbers of workplace fatalities with 13 and 12, respectively. (See table 4.) Four of the fatalities within the construction and extraction group were construction laborers. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 8 of the 12 fatalities among transportation and material moving 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 2016, the Washington metropolitan area had 17 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contracted worker criteria; of those, eight were the result of falls to a lower level.

Additional highlights

Men accounted for 86 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Washington metropolitan area, lower than the 93-percent national share. (See table 5.) Transportation incidents and falls, slips, or trips each accounted for one-fourth of the fatalities for men in the Washington metropolitan area. Among women, 6 of the 9 fatalities were a result of violence and other injuries by persons or animals.

White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 53 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 74 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2016, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
Of the 66 fatally-injured workers in the Washington metropolitan area, 83 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was violence and other injuries by persons or animals. Transportation incidents and contact with objects and equipment each accounted for three self-employed worker deaths.
Twenty-one percent of workplace fatalities in the Washington metropolitan area occurred in August, compared to 10 percent nationwide.

(1) Metropolitan area populations based on 2015 estimates from the Census Bureau.

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 District of Columbia Department of Health; Virginia Department of Labor and Industry; and 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 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, dated February 28, 2013. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of the Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, Md. Metropolitan Division (MD) and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Division (MD).

The Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD MD consists of Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MD consists of the District of Columbia; Calvert, Charles, and Prince George's Counties in Maryland; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties in Virginia; Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.

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 selected event groups in the 10 largest metropolitan areas in 2016
Metropolitan Areas (1)	Total fatalities	Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	Fall, slip, trip	Transportation incidents	Contact with objects and equipment	Exposure to harmful substances or environments
United States (2)	5,190	866	849	2,083	761	518
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	222	42	57	62	34	23
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	115	19	32	35	13	15
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	109	34	25	27	13	7
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	105	29	28	31	10	7
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	93	16	20	32	13	9
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	92	14	21	26	11	15
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-NH	75	17	16	14	9	19
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	69	18	14	22	4	10
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	66	19	16	14	9	8
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	52	7	14	21	6	3
Footnotes: (1) Metropolitan areas used in this table are Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) based on definitions from the Office of Management and Budget Bulletin Number 13-01, February 2013. (2) Also includes fatalities occurring in nonmetropolitan areas.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2015-2016
Event or exposure (1)	2015	2016
Event or exposure (1)	Number	Number	Percent
Total	43	66	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	10	19	29
Intentional injury by person	10	15	23
Homicides	5	8	12
Shooting by other person—intentional	4	3	5
Hitting, kicking, beating, shoving	-	1	2
Strangulation by other person	-	2	3
Suicides	5	7	11
Shooting—intentional self-harm	3	3	5
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation—intentional self-harm	-	3	5
Transportation incidents	10	14	21
Aircraft incidents	-	3	5
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	-	3	5
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing—due to mechanical failure	-	1	2
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing—into structure, object, or ground	-	2	3
Pedestrian vehicular incident	3	4	6
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in work zone	1	1	2
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in work zone	1	1	2
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	-	1	2
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area	-	1	2
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	7	6	9
Roadway collision with other vehicle	-	4	6
Roadway collision moving in same direction	-	1	2
Roadway collision moving perpendicularly	-	1	2
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	4	2	3
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	4	2	3
Fall, slip, trip	11	16	24
Fall to lower level	10	13	20
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	-	-	-
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment more than 30 feet	-	1	2
Other fall to lower level	9	9	14
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	6	8	12
Exposure to other harmful substances	4	5	8
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol unintentional overdose	4	4	6
Contact with objects and equipment	6	9	14
Struck by object or equipment	3	6	9
Struck by falling object or equipment	1	5	8
Struck by swinging or slipping object, other than handheld	1	1	2
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	1	1	2
Caught in running equipment or machinery	1	1	2
Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning	1	1	2
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	1	2	3
Excavation or trenching cave-in	-	1	2
Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment	-	1	2
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. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality 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 industry, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2015-2016
Industry (1)	2015	2016
Industry (1)	Number	Number	Percent
Total	43	66	100
Private industry	37	61	92
Goods-producing	16	23	35
Construction	12	19	29
Heavy and civil engineering construction	2	3	5
Utility system construction	1	1	2
Water and sewer line and related structures construction	1	1	2
Specialty trade contractors	7	14	21
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	-	7	11
Building equipment contractors	-	4	6
Electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors	-	3	5
Nonresidential electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors	-	2	3
Building finishing contractors	3	1	2
Finish carpentry contractors	-	1	2
Residential finish carpentry contractors	-	1	2
Manufacturing	3	4	6
Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing	-	1	2
Beverage manufacturing	-	1	2
Wineries	-	1	2
Wood product manufacturing	-	1	2
Sawmills and wood preservation	-	1	2
Sawmills and wood preservation	-	1	2
Sawmills	-	1	2
Computer and electronic product manufacturing	-	1	2
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing	-	1	2
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing	-	1	2
Service-providing	21	38	58
Trade, transportation, and utilities	7	16	24
Wholesale trade	-	3	5
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	-	3	5
Grocery and related product merchant wholesalers	-	3	5
General line grocery merchant wholesalers	-	3	5
Retail trade	-	3	5
Food and beverage stores	-	1	2
Grocery stores	-	1	2
Convenience stores	-	1	2
Gasoline stations	-	2	3
Gasoline stations	-	2	3
Gasoline stations with convenience stores	-	2	3
Transportation and warehousing	-	10	15
Air transportation	-	2	3
Nonscheduled air transportation	-	2	3
Nonscheduled air transportation	-	2	3
Nonscheduled chartered passenger air transportation	-	2	3
Truck transportation	-	6	9
General freight trucking	-	5	8
General freight trucking, local	-	3	5
General freight trucking, long-distance	-	2	3
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload	-	1	2
General freight trucking, long-distance, less than truckload	-	1	2
Support activities for transportation	-	1	2
Support activities for air transportation	-	1	2
Professional and business services	9	12	18
Professional, scientific, and technical services	2	4	6
Professional, scientific, and technical services	2	4	6
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services	-	1	2
Management consulting services	-	1	2
Process, physical distribution, and logistics consulting services	-	1	2
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	7	8	12
Administrative and support services	7	8	12
Investigation and security services	3	1	2
Investigation, guard, and armored car services	3	1	2
Security guards and patrol services	3	1	2
Services to buildings and dwellings	-	7	11
Landscaping services	-	5	8
Educational and health services	-	2	3
Health care and social assistance	-	2	3
Nursing and residential care facilities	-	2	3
Other residential care facilities	-	2	3
Leisure and hospitality	-	5	8
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	-	1	2
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	-	1	2
Other amusement and recreation industries	-	1	2
Golf courses and country clubs	-	1	2
Accommodation and food services	-	4	6
Food services and drinking places	-	4	6
Special food services	1	-	-
Caterers	-	1	2
Restaurants and other eating places	-	2	3
Restaurants and other eating places	-	2	3
Full-service restaurants	-	1	2
Limited-service restaurants	-	1	2
Government (2)	6	5	8
Federal government	-	-	-
Service-providing	-	-	-
Public administration	-	1	2
National security and international affairs	-	1	2
National security and international affairs	-	1	2
National security	-	1	2
Local government	5	3	5
Service-providing	4	3	5
Public administration	3	3	5
Justice, public order, and safety activities	3	3	5
Justice, public order, and safety activities	3	3	5
Police protection	3	2	3
Fire protection	-	1	2
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.
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 fatality 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 occupation, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2015-2016
Occupation (1)	2015	2016
Occupation (1)	Number	Number	Percent
Total	43	66	100
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	4	7	11
Management, business, and financial occupations	-	3	5
Management occupations	-	-	-
Top executives	-	1	2
General and operations managers	-	1	2
General and operations managers	-	1	2
Business and financial operations occupations	-	1	2
Business operations specialists	-	1	2
Management analysts	-	1	2
Management analysts	-	1	2
Professional and related occupations	3	4	6
Education, legal, community, service, arts, and media occupations	3	2	3
Community and social services occupations	-	2	3
Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists	-	2	3
Counselors	-	2	3
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	-	1	2
Health technologists and technicians	-	1	2
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	-	1	2
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	-	1	2
Service occupations	11	14	21
Protective service occupations	6	3	5
Law enforcement workers	3	2	3
Detectives and criminal investigators	1	1	2
Detectives and criminal investigators	1	1	2
Police officers	2	1	2
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	2	1	2
Other protective service workers	3	1	2
Security guards and gaming surveillance officers	3	1	2
Security guards	3	1	2
Food preparation and serving related occupations	-	4	6
Other food preparation and serving related workers	-	1	2
Dishwashers	-	1	2
Dishwashers	-	1	2
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	5	7	11
Supervisors, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	-	1	2
First-line supervisors/managers, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	-	1	2
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers	-	1	2
Grounds maintenance workers	-	5	8
Grounds maintenance workers	-	5	8
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	1	4	6
Tree trimmers and pruners	-	1	2
Sales and office occupations	3	8	12
Sales and related occupations	-	4	6
Retail sales workers	-	3	5
Cashiers	-	3	5
Cashiers	-	3	5
Office and administrative support occupations	-	4	6
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	-	-	-
Stock clerks and order fillers	-	1	2
Stock clerks and order fillers	-	1	2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	14	20	30
Construction and extraction occupations	13	13	20
Construction trades workers	12	11	17
Carpenters	-	3	5
Carpenters	-	3	5
Construction laborers	4	4	6
Construction laborers	4	4	6
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	1	7	11
Electrical and electronic equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	-	1	2
Radio and telecommunications equipment installers and repairers	-	1	2
Radio, cellular, and tower equipment, installers and repairers	-	1	2
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	-	4	6
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians	-	1	2
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians	-	1	2
Automotive technicians and repairers	-	1	2
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	-	1	2
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	-	1	2
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	-	1	2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	11	16	24
Production occupations	-	4	6
Assemblers and fabricators	-	1	2
Electrical, electronics, and electromechanical assemblers	-	1	2
Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers	-	1	2
Transportation and material moving occupations	9	12	18
Air transportation workers	-	2	3
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	-	2	3
Commercial pilots	-	2	3
Motor vehicle operators	8	9	14
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	8	8	12
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	7	8	12
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 fatality 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 5. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2015-2016
Worker characteristics	2015	2016
Worker characteristics	Number	Number	Percent
Total	43	66	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	38	55	83
Self-employed (2)	5	11	17
Gender
Women	4	9	14
Men	39	57	86
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	5	3	5
25 to 34 years	8	15	23
35 to 44 years	6	18	27
45 to 54 years	9	16	24
55 to 64 years	8	7	11
65 years and over	6	7	11
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White (non-Hispanic)	23	35	53
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	12	10	15
Hispanic or Latino	8	15	23
Asian (non-Hispanic)	-	5	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) 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 Hispanic and Latino workers.
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 fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Last Modified Date: Thursday, April 19, 2018

Mid-Atlantic Information Office

Fatal Work Injuries in the Washington, DC Area — 2016