News Release Information
24-417-PHI
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Fatal Work Injuries in the District of Columbia — 2022
Fatal work injuries totaled 15 in 2022 for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in District of Columbia was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 25 in 1993 and 2013 to a low of five in 2016. Nationwide, a total of 5,486 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2022, a 5.7-percent increase from 5,190 in 2021, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, District of Columbia, 2013–22| Year | Total | Wage and salary | Self-employed |
|---|
2013 | 25 | 22 | 3 |
|---|
2014 | 11 | 9 | 2 |
|---|
2015 | 8 | 7 | -- |
|---|
2016 | 5 | 5 | -- |
|---|
2017 | 13 | 10 | 3 |
|---|
2018 | 10 | 10 | -- |
|---|
2019 | 10 | 8 | -- |
|---|
2020 | 13 | -- | -- |
|---|
2021 | 12 | 10 | 2 |
|---|
2022 | 15 | -- | -- |
|---|
Fatal event or exposure
In the District of Columbia, violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for seven fatalities in 2022. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in three work-related deaths. These two major categories accounted for 67 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the District of Columbia. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals were unchanged from the prior year.
Nationally, transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal event in 2022, accounting for 38 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals along with exposure to harmful substances or environments (15 percent each).
Chart 2. Percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and District of Columbia, 2022| Event | United States | District of Columbia |
|---|
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals | 16 | 47 |
|---|
Exposure to harmful substances or environments | 15 | 20 |
|---|
All other | 69 | 33 |
|---|
Industry
The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in the District of Columbia with seven, up from three in the previous year. (See table 2.) Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in 3 of the 7 fatalities in the industry. The building equipment contractors industry group accounted for 4 of the 7 fatal workplace injuries in the construction industry.
The private administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector had three fatal workplace injuries, up from one in the previous year. Incidents of violence and other injuries by persons or animals within the administrative and support services subsector accounted for all three of the fatal injuries in this industry.
Occupation
The construction and extraction occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with six. (See table 3.) The protective service occupational group had three workplace injuries.
Additional highlights
Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 40 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 23 percent of work-related deaths. Black or African-American workers made up 33 percent of work-related fatalities, compared to 13 percent nationally.
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 fatalities resulting from workplace 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 2022 national data, over 27,200 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 and the CFOI definitions.
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 Scope of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: Concepts.
Latency Cases. Latent fatal occupational injury cases occur when the date of injury differs from the date of death. In some cases, the death occurs in a different year than the occupational injury and are known as cross-year latent cases. In 2022, there were 186 cases nationally where this occurred, and 157 of these latent cases occurred more than 30 days prior to the start of 2022. For more information on latent cases, see Understanding latency in fatal occupational injuries.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. CFOI reports fatal workplace injuries only. These may include fatal workplace injuries complicated by an illness such as COVID-19. Fatal workplace illnesses not precipitated by an injury are not in scope for CFOI. CFOI does not report any illness related information, including COVID-19. Additional information is available on the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, Compensation, Occupational Requirements, and Work Stoppages Statistics.
Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the District of Columbia Department of Health 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.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, District of Columbia, 2021–22| Event or exposure | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|
| Number | Number | Percent |
|---|
Total | 12 | 15 | 100 |
|---|
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals | 7 | 7 | 47 |
|---|
Intentional injury by person | 7 | 7 | 47 |
|---|
Exposure to harmful substances or environments | -- | 3 | 20 |
|---|
NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. N.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. |
Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, District of Columbia, 2021–22| Industry | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|
| Number | Number | Percent |
|---|
Total | 12 | 15 | 100 |
|---|
Private Industry | 8 | 14 | 93 |
|---|
Goods producing | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Natural resources and mining | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Construction | 3 | 7 | 47 |
|---|
Construction | 3 | 7 | 47 |
|---|
Construction of buildings | -- | 3 | 20 |
|---|
Nonresidential building construction | -- | 3 | 20 |
|---|
Commercial and institutional building construction | -- | 3 | 20 |
|---|
Specialty trade contractors | -- | 4 | 27 |
|---|
Building equipment contractors | -- | 4 | 27 |
|---|
Manufacturing | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Service providing | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Trade, transportation, and utilities | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Information | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Financial activities | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Professional and business services | 1 | 3 | 20 |
|---|
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services | 1 | 3 | 20 |
|---|
Administrative and support services | 1 | 3 | 20 |
|---|
Educational and health services | 1 | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Health care and social assistance | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Social assistance | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Individual and family services | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Leisure and hospitality | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Arts, entertainment, and recreation | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Other amusement and recreation industries | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Other services, except public administration | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Public administration | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Government | 4 | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Federal government | 4 | -- | -- |
|---|
State government | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Local government | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. N.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. |
Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, District of Columbia, 2021–22| Occupation | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|
| Number | Number | Percent |
|---|
Total | 12 | 15 | 100 |
|---|
Management occupations | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Other management occupations | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Social and community service managers | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Social and community service managers | -- | 1 | 7 |
|---|
Protective service occupations | 5 | 3 | 20 |
|---|
Construction and extraction occupations | -- | 6 | 40 |
|---|
NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. N.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. |
Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, District of Columbia, 2021–22| Worker characteristics | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|
| Number | Number | Percent |
|---|
Total | 12 | 15 | 100 |
|---|
Employee status | |
|---|
Wage and salary workers | 10 | -- | -- |
|---|
Self-employed | 2 | -- | -- |
|---|
Gender | |
|---|
Men | 11 | 14 | 93 |
|---|
Women | 1 | -- | -- |
|---|
Age | |
|---|
25 to 34 years | -- | 5 | 33 |
|---|
45 to 54 years | -- | 5 | 33 |
|---|
55 to 64 years | -- | 5 | 33 |
|---|
Race or ethnic origin | |
|---|
White, non-Hispanic | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic | -- | 5 | 33 |
|---|
Hispanic or Latino | 3 | 6 | 40 |
|---|
Asian, non-Hispanic | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | -- | -- | -- |
|---|
NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. N.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. |
United States Department of Labor
