Fatal work injuries totaled 35 in 2018 for the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 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 Virginia Beach area increased by 13 from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the Virginia Beach area have ranged from a high of 36 in 2006 to a low of 17 in 2010. (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 Virginia Beach area, violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 15 workplace fatalities, and transportation incidents resulted in 9 fatal work injuries. These two major categories accounted for 69 percent of all workplace fatalities in the Virginia Beach area. (See table 1.) Worker deaths due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals were up from five over the year and worker fatalities from transportation incidents were up from six.

Falls, slips, and trips was the third-most frequent fatal work event with five fatalities, the same number as in 2017. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in four work-related deaths compared to three in the previous year. In 2018, 3 of the 4 fatalities due to exposure to harmful substances or environments were unintentional overdoses from the nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol while at work.

Nationally, transportation incidents were 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

Government had the largest number of fatalities in the Virginia Beach area with 11, up from 6 in the previous year. Suicide accounted for all of the worker deaths in government. (See table 2.)

The private construction industry had eight workplace fatalities, up from six in 2017. Transportation incidents and falls, slips, and trips were the most frequent fatal event in the construction sector with three worker deaths each.

Occupation

Military occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 10, followed by transportation and material moving occupations with 9, and construction and extraction occupations with 8. (See table 3.) Construction trades workers accounted for 6 of the 8 fatalities in the construction and extraction group.

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, Virginia Beach had five fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria; of those, three were the result of falls to a lower level.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Virginia Beach area, similar to the 92-percent national share. (See table 4.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals made up 41 percent of the fatalities for men in the Virginia Beach area.
• White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 49 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 65 percent of work-related deaths. The share of fatalities among Black or African-American non-Hispanic workers was 34 percent in the Virginia Beach area, higher than the 12 percent share nationwide. In the Virginia Beach area, Hispanic workers accounted for 14 percent of work-related fatalities; nationally, this group accounted for 18 percent.
• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 63 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2018, higher than the 58 percent share of those in this age group nationally.
• Of the 35 fatally-injured workers in the Virginia Beach area, 91 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 15, the majority of these were due to suicide (12).
• The most frequent days of occurrence for workplace fatalities in the Virginia Beach area were Tuesday and Wednesday, accounting for 43 percent combined. These two days accounted for 33 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 Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and the North Carolina 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 www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Currituck and Gates Counties in North Carolina; Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Mathews, and York Counties in Virginia; and Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg Cities in 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 event or exposure, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2017–18

Event or exposure (1)	2017	2018
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	22	35	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	5	15	43
Intentional injury by person	5	14	40
Homicides	2	2	6
Shooting by other person—intentional	2	2	6
Suicides	3	12	34
Shooting—intentional self-harm	3	6	17
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation—intentional self-harm	--	4	11
Injury by person—unintentional or intent unknown	--	1	3
Injury by other person—unintentional or intent unknown	--	1	3
Shooting by other person—unintentional	--	1	3
Transportation incidents	6	9	26
Rail vehicle incidents	--	1	3
Rail vehicle collision	--	1	3
Collision between rail and roadway vehicles	--	1	3
Pedestrian vehicular incident	--	1	3
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	1	3
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	--	1	3
Water vehicle incident	2	1	3
Fall or jump from water vehicle	--	1	3
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	3	6	17
Roadway collision with other vehicle	1	2	6
Roadway collision moving in same direction	--	2	6
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	--	--	--
Vehicle struck by falling or flying object roadway	--	1	3
Roadway noncollision incident	--	--	--
Fall or jump from and struck by same vehicle in normal operation, roadway	--	1	3
Fire or explosion	--	1	3
Explosion	--	1	3
Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids	--	1	3
Fall, slip, trip	5	5	14
Fall to lower level	5	4	11
Fall through surface or existing opening	--	2	6
Fall through surface or existing opening 21 to 25 feet	--	1	3
Fall through surface or existing opening 26 to 30 feet	--	1	3
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	3	4	11
Exposure to other harmful substances	--	4	11
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol unintentional overdose	--	3	9
Overexertion and bodily reaction	--	1	3
Other exertions or bodily reactions	--	1	3
Sitting, sitting down	--	1	3
Sitting, sitting down repetitive or prolonged	--	1	3
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, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2017–18

Industry (1)	2017	2018
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	22	35	100
Private industry	16	24	69
Goods producing	8	8	23
Construction	6	8	23
Heavy and civil engineering construction	--	1	3
Highway, street, and bridge construction	--	1	3
Highway, street, and bridge construction	--	1	3
Specialty trade contractors	6	7	20
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	1	--	--
Roofing contractors	1	1	3
Nonresidential roofing contractors	--	1	3
Building finishing contractors	--	--	--
Tile and terrazzo contractors	--	1	3
Residential tile and terrazzo contractors	--	1	3
Service providing	8	16	46
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3	6	17
Wholesale trade	--	1	3
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	--	1	3
Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies merchant wholesalers	--	1	3
Motor vehicle supplies and new parts merchant wholesalers	--	1	3
Retail trade	1	--	--
Miscellaneous store retailers	--	1	3
Other miscellaneous store retailers	--	1	3
All other miscellaneous store retailers	--	1	3
Transportation and warehousing	--	3	9
Water transportation	--	1	3
Deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes water transportation	--	1	3
Deep sea, coastal, and great lakes water transportation	--	1	3
Deep sea freight transportation	--	1	3
Truck transportation	--	2	6
General freight trucking	--	1	3
General freight trucking, long-distance	--	1	3
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload	--	1	3
Specialized freight trucking	--	1	3
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, long-distance	--	1	3
Professional and business services	3	5	14
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	3	4	11
Administrative and support services	3	3	9
Employment services	--	2	6
Temporary help services	--	2	6
Services to buildings and dwellings	3	1	3
Landscaping services	--	1	3
Educational and health services	--	--	--
Health care and social assistance	--	--	--
Ambulatory health care services	--	1	3
Offices of other health practitioners	--	1	3
Offices of optometrists	--	1	3
Leisure and hospitality	--	--	--
Accommodation and food services	--	--	--
Food services and drinking places	--	--	--
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	--	1	3
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	--	1	3
Government (2)	6	11	31
Federal government	3	11	31
Service providing	3	11	31
Public administration	3	11	31
National security and international affairs	3	10	29
National security and international affairs	3	10	29
National security	3	10	29
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, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2017–18

Occupation (1)	2017	2018
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	22	35	100
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	--	--	--
Professional and related occupations	--	1	3
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	1	3
Health technologists and technicians	--	1	3
Health diagnosing and treating practitioner support technicians	--	1	3
Ophthalmic medical technicians	--	1	3
Service occupations	3	4	11
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	1	3
Food and beverage serving workers	--	1	3
Bartenders	--	1	3
Bartenders	--	1	3
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	3	1	3
Supervisors, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	1	1	3
First-line supervisors/managers, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	1	1	3
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers	1	1	3
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	13	8	23
Construction and extraction occupations	7	8	23
Construction trades workers	4	6	17
Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers	--	1	3
Tile and marble setters	--	1	3
Construction laborers	--	1	3
Construction laborers	--	1	3
Roofers	1	1	3
Roofers	1	1	3
Other construction and related workers	--	1	3
Highway maintenance workers	--	1	3
Highway maintenance workers	--	1	3
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	2	10	29
Transportation and material moving occupations	2	9	26
Motor vehicle operators	1	4	11
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	1	4	11
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	1	3	9
Water transportation workers	--	1	3
Sailors and marine oilers	--	1	3
Sailors and marine oilers	--	1	3
Material moving workers	1	4	11
Laborers and material movers, hand	--	3	9
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	--	3	9
Military occupations (2)	3	10	29
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 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, Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2017–18

Worker characteristics	2017	2018
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	22	35	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	17	32	91
Self-employed (2)	5	3	9
Gender
Women	--	3	9
Men	22	32	91
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	1	6	17
25 to 34 years	2	8	23
35 to 44 years	3	11	31
45 to 54 years	7	3	9
55 to 64 years	6	4	11
65 years and over	3	3	9
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	13	17	49
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	9	12	34
Hispanic or Latino	--	5	14
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.