Fatal work injuries totaled 18 in 2017 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 decreased by six 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 5,147 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2017, down slightly from the 5,190 fatal injuries reported in 2016, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In the Richmond area, violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in eight fatal work injuries and transportation incidents accounted for six workplace fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 78 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 decreased by four over the year and the number of worker fatalities due to transportation incidents decreased by one.

Nationally, transportation incidents remained the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2017, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent).

Industry

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in the Richmond area with seven, followed by other services, except public administration, and government with three. The number of fatalities in transportation and warehousing increased by two from the previous year. (See table 2.) Specialized freight trucking accounted for 4 of the 7 fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations and installation, maintenance, and repair occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with nine and four, respectively. (See table 3.) Five of the fatalities within the transportation and material moving group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers made up 3 of the 4 fatal injuries among installation, maintenance and repair 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 2017, the Richmond area had three fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria. Two of these workers were in transportation and material moving occupations.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 89 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Richmond area, lower than the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals and transportation incidents were the most frequent workplace fatality events for men in the Richmond area, each accounting for 38 percent.
• White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 44 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Black, non-Hispanic workers comprised 33 percent of Richmond’s fatal injuries at work, while Hispanic workers made up 17 percent of the fatalities. Nationwide, white, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths, while non-Hispanic black and Hispanic workers represented 10 and 18 percent of the national share, respectively.
• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 78 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 18 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 wage and salary workers was violence and other injuries by persons or animals.  For self-employed, the most frequent fatal event was transportation incidents.
• The most frequent days of occurrence for workplace fatalities in the Richmond area were  Wednesday and Friday, accounting for 56 percent combined. These two days accounted for 32 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 2017 data, over 23,400 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 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 and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.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, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	24	18	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	12	8	44
Intentional injury by person	12	8	44
Homicides	8	3	17
Shooting by other person--intentional	7	3	17
Suicides	4	5	28
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm	--	3	17
Transportation incidents	7	6	33
Aircraft incidents	--	1	6
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	--	1	6
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--due to mechanical failure	--	1	6
Pedestrian vehicular incident	1	1	6
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	1	6
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area	--	1	6
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	5	4	22
Roadway collision with other vehicle	--	1	6
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	--	1	6
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	4	3	17
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	4	3	17
Contact with objects and equipment	3	--	--
Struck by object or equipment	--	--	--
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	--	1	6
Struck by other falling powered vehicle	--	1	6
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 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Richmond, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	24	18	100
Private industry	23	15	83
Goods producing	3	--	--
Construction	--	--	--
Construction of buildings	--	1	6
Residential building construction	--	1	6
Residential building construction	--	1	6
New single-family housing construction (except for-sale builders)	--	1	6
Service providing	20	13	72
Trade, transportation, and utilities	10	8	44
Wholesale trade	--	1	6
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	--	1	6
Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers	--	1	6
Computer and computer peripheral equipment and software merchant wholesalers	--	1	6
Transportation and warehousing	5	7	39
Truck transportation	4	5	28
Specialized freight trucking	--	4	22
Transit and ground passenger transportation	--	1	6
Taxi and limousine service	--	1	6
Taxi service	--	1	6
Educational and health services	--	1	6
Educational services	--	1	6
Technical and trade schools	--	1	6
Technical and trade schools	--	1	6
Flight training	--	1	6
Other services, except public administration	--	3	17
Other services, except public administration	--	3	17
Repair and maintenance	--	3	17
Automotive repair and maintenance	--	3	17
Other automotive repair and maintenance	--	1	6
Car washes	--	1	6
Government (2)	1	3	17
Federal government	--	1	6
Public Administration	--	1	6
National security and international affairs	--	1	6
National security and international affairs	--	1	6
National security	--	1	6
State government	1	1	6
Public Administration	1	1	6
Justice, public order, and safety activities	1	1	6
Justice, public order, and safety activities	1	1	6
Police protection	1	1	6
Local government	--	1	6
Public Administration	--	1	6
Justice, public order, and safety activities	--	1	6
Justice, public order, and safety activities	--	1	6
Courts	--	1	6
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 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Richmond, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	24	18	100
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	--	2	11
Management, business, and financial occupations	1	1	6
Management occupations	1	1	6
Other management occupations	--	1	6
Construction managers	--	1	6
Construction managers	--	1	6
Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations	--	1	6
Legal occupations	--	1	6
Lawyers, judges, and related workers	--	1	6
Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers	--	1	6
Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates	--	1	6
Service occupations	5	--	--
Protective service occupations	2	1	6
Law enforcement workers	1	1	6
Detectives and criminal investigators	--	1	6
Detectives and criminal investigators	--	1	6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	4	5	28
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	4	22
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	--	3	17
Automotive technicians and repairers	--	--	--
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	--	1	6
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics	--	1	6
Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines	--	1	6
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	7	9	50
Transportation and material moving occupations	7	9	50
Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers	--	1	6
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators	--	1	6
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators	--	1	6
Air transportation workers	--	1	6
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	--	1	6
Commercial pilots	--	1	6
Motor vehicle operators	6	6	33
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	6	5	28
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	5	5	28
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	--	1	6
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	--	1	6
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 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, Richmond, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	24	18	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	20	15	83
Self-employed (2)	4	3	17
Gender
Men	23	16	89
Age (3)
18 to 19 years	--	1	6
25 to 34 years	6	3	17
35 to 44 years	6	5	28
45 to 54 years	3	6	33
55 to 64 years	5	3	17
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White (non-Hispanic)	11	8	44
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	7	6	33
Hispanic or Latino	--	3	17
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.