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News Release Information

20-1176-PHI
Thursday, June 04, 2020

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Fatal Work Injuries in the Baltimore Area — 2018

Fatal work injuries totaled 58 in 2018 for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 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 Baltimore area increased by 13 from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the area have ranged from a high of 59 in 2006 to a low of 28 in 2011. (See chart 1.) 

Nationwide, a total of 5,250 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2018, up from the 5,147 fatal injuries in 2017, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In the Baltimore area, violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 18 fatal work injuries and exposure to harmful substances or environments accounted for 15 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 57 percent of all workplace fatalities in the Baltimore area. (See table 1.) The number of worker fatalities from violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased by eight from the previous year and worker deaths due to exposure to harmful substances or environments increased by six. In 2018, 10 of the 15 fatalities due to exposure to harmful substances or environments were unintentional overdoses from the nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol while at work. 

Contact with objects and equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 10 fatalities. The number of worker deaths due to contact with objects and equipment increased by five over the year.   

Nationally, transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2018, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by falls, slips, and trips (15 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (15 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in the Baltimore area with 15, same as in the previous year. (See table 2.) The two most frequent fatal events in the private construction sector were exposure to harmful substances or environments with five and contact with objects and equipment with four. 

The administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector within private industry had eight workplace fatalities in 2018, an increase of three over the year.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 14, followed by construction and extraction occupations with 11. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within the transportation and material moving group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (6). First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers accounted for three fatalities, as did roofers.

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 2018, the Baltimore area had 13 fatal injuries to workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria; of those, 5 were the result of contact with objects and equipment.  

Additional highlights

  • Men accounted for 84 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Baltimore area, lower the national share of 92 percent. (See table 4.) Exposure to harmful substances or environments made up 29 percent of the fatalities for men in the Baltimore area. 

  • White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 53 percent of those who died from a workplace injury while Black or African American, non-Hispanic workers made up 28 percent of Baltimore’s fatal injuries at work. Nationwide, White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 65 percent of work-related deaths, while Black or African American, non-Hispanic workers represented 12 percent of the national share. 

  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 55 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2018, compared to 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally. Over the year, fatalities of workers 55 years of age and older doubled, accounting for 38 percent of all work related fatalities. Nationally, workers 55 years of age and older accounted for 35 percent of all on the job fatalities. 

  • Of the 58 fatally-injured workers in the Baltimore 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 with 16 worker deaths; for self-employed workers, exposure to harmful substances or environments was the most frequent fatal event with 4 fatalities.    

  • Fifty percent of workplace fatalities in the Baltimore area occurred on a Wednesday or Thursday. These two days accounted for 35 percent of workplace fatalities nationally.

 


Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, is a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI uses a variety of 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 2018 national data, over 24,800 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see 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, some of which may be outside the scope of other agencies or regulatory coverage. Comparisons between CFOI counts and those released by other agencies should account for the different coverage requirements and definitions used by each agency. For more information on the scope of CFOI, see www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Maryland Department of Labor 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 https://www.bls.gov/bls/omb-bulletin-13-01-revised-delineations-of-metropolitan-statistical-areas.pdf

The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s Counties and Baltimore City in Maryland. 

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, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, 2017-2018
Event of Exposure(1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

4558100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

101831

    Intentional injury by person

91831

        Homicides

91628

            Shooting by other person—intentional

81322

            Hitting, kicking, beating, shoving

-23

        Suicides

-23

            Shooting—intentional self-harm

-23

Transportation incidents

12610

    Pedestrian vehicular incident

435

        Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area

123

            Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area

-12

            Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area

112

    Water vehicle incident

-12

        Capsized or sinking water vehicle

-12

    Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle

7--

        Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

412

            Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

412

Fire or explosion

-23

    Fire

-23

        Collapsing building, structure, or structural element during fire

-12

        Other structural fire without collapse

-12

Fall, slip, trip

9712

    Fall to lower level

9610

        Fall from collapsing structure or equipment

112

            Fall from collapsing structure or equipment more than 30 feet

112

        Other fall to lower level

859

            Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet

112

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

91526

    Exposure to other harmful substances

71017

        Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol unintentional overdose

71017

    Exposure to oxygen deficiency

-23

        Drowning, submersion, n.e.c.

-23

Contact with objects and equipment

51017

    Struck by object or equipment

3610

        Struck by powered vehicle nontransport

-35

            Caught between rolling powered vehicle and other object

-12

            Struck by swinging part of powered vehicle

-12

        Struck by falling object or equipment

235

    Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

-12

        Caught in running equipment or machinery

-12

            Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation

-12

    Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material

-35

        Excavation or trenching cave-in

-12

        Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment

-23

Footnotes:
(1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implementated 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 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, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, 2017-2018
Industry(1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

4558100

Private industry

445188

    Goods producing

201933

        Natural resources and mining

212

            Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

212

                Forestry and logging

-12

                    Logging

-12

                        Logging

-12

        Construction

151526

                Construction of buildings

347

                    Residential building construction

-47

                        Residential building construction

-47

                            New housing for-sale builders

-12

                            Residential remodelers

-35

                Heavy and civil engineering construction

223

                    Utility system construction

112

                        Water and sewer line and related structures construction

-12

                    Highway, street, and bridge construction

112

                        Highway, street, and bridge construction

112

                Specialty trade contractors

10916

                    Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors

559

                        Roofing contractors

435

                            Nonresidential roofing contractors

312

                    Building equipment contractors

-35

                        Other building equipment contractors

-12

                            Other nonresidential building equipment contractors

-12

        Manufacturing

335

                Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing

312

                    Other nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing

312

                        All other nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing

312

                            Cut stone and stone product manufacturing

312

                Miscellaneous manufacturing

-12

                    Other miscellaneous manufacturing

-12

                        Sign manufacturing

-12

    Service providing

243255

        Trade, transportation, and utilities

101017

            Retail trade

347

                Motor vehicle and parts dealers

-12

                    Automotive parts, accessories, and tire stores

-12

                        Tire dealers

-12

            Transportation and warehousing

647

                Truck transportation

235

                    General freight trucking

135

        Information

-59

            Publishing industries (except internet)

-59

                Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers

-59

                    Newspaper publishers

-59

    Financial Activities

---

        Real estate and rental and leasing

1--

            Real estate

1--

                Lessors of real estate

112

                    Lessors of nonresidential buildings (except miniwarehouses)

-12

    Professional and business services

5814

        Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

5814

            Administrative and support services

5712

    Educational and health services

-12

        Health care and social assistance

-12

            Nursing and residential care facilities

-12

                Residential intellectual and developmental disability, mental health and substance abuse facilities

-12

                    Residential mental health and substance abuse facilities

-12

    Leisure and hospitality

-47

        Accommodation and food services

-47

            Food services and drinking places

-47

        Other services, except public administration

5--

            Repair and maintenance

2--

                Personal and household goods repair and maintenance

-12

Government(2)

1712

    Federal government

-23

        Service providing

-23

            Public administration

-23

                Administration of human resource programs

-12

                    Administration of human resource programs

-12

                        Administration of human resource programs (except education, public health, and veterans' affairs programs)

-12

                National security and international affairs

-12

                    National security and international affairs

-12

                        National security

-12

    Local government

147

        Service providing

147

            Public administration

147

                Justice, public order, and safety activities

147

                    Justice, public order, and safety activities

147

                        Police protection

135

                        Fire protection

-12

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 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, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, 2017-2018
Occupation(1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

4558100

    Management, business, science, and arts occupations

459

        Professional and related occupations

259

    Computer, engineering, and science occupations

-12

        Computer and mathematical occupations

-12

            Computer occupations

-12

                Computer and information analysts

-12

                    Information security analysts

-12

    Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations

247

        Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

147

            Media and communication workers

-47

                News analysts, reporters and correspondents

-23

                    Reporters and correspondents

-23

                Writers and editors

-23

                    Editors

-23

    Service occupations

81322

        Healthcare support occupations

-12

            Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides

-12

                Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides

-12

                    Nursing assistants

-12

        Protective service occupations

3712

            Fire fighting and prevention workers

-12

                Firefighters

-12

                    Firefighters

-12

            Law enforcement workers

135

                Police officers

-35

                    Police and sheriff's patrol officers

-35

            Other protective service workers

223

                Security guards and gaming surveillance officers

123

                    Security guards

123

    Sales and office occupations

4916

        Sales and related occupations

1610

            Other sales and related workers

-23

                Real estate brokers and sales agents

-12

                    Real estate sales agents

-12

                Miscellaneous sales and related workers

-12

    Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations

171526

        Construction and extraction occupations

131119

            Supervisors of construction and extraction workers

435

                First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers

435

                    First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

435

            Construction trades workers

9610

                Roofers

-35

                    Roofers

-35

            Other construction and related workers

---

                Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners

-12

                    Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners

-12

        Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

435

            Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

235

     Production, transportation, and material moving occupations

121526

        Transportation and material moving occupations

81424

            Motor vehicle operators

6814

                Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

6712

                    Driver/sales workers

-12

                    Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

5610

                Miscellaneous motor vehicle operators

-12

            Material moving workers

-610

                Laborers and material movers, hand

-47

    Military occupations(2)

-12

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 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, Baltimore-Columbia-Townson, MD, 2017-2018
Characteristic20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

4558100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers(1)

354883

Self-employed(2)

101017

Gender

Women

3916

Men

424984

Age(3)

18 to 19 years

-12

20 to 24 years

-35

25 to 34 years

131221

35 to 44 years

61119

45 to 54 years

15916

55 to 64 years

71424

65 years and over

4814

Race or ethnic origin(4)

White (non-Hispanic)

223153

Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)

101628

Hispanic or Latino

111017

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 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, June 04, 2020