Fatal Work Injuries in West Virginia— 2023

Fatal work injuries totaled 58 in 2023 for West Virginia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in West Virginia was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 95 in 2010 to a low of 35 in 2015. Nationwide, a total of 5,283 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2023, a 3.7-percent decrease from 5,486 in 2022, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Stacked column chart of fatal occupational injuries by employee status in West Virginia, 2014–23. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, West Virginia, 2014–23
Year	Total	Wage and salary	Self-employed
2014	38	35	3
2015	35	31	4
2016	47	41	6
2017	51	43	8
2018	57	52	5
2019	46	42	4
2020	47	40	7
2021	36	31	5
2022	48	43	5
2023	58	53	5
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fatal event or exposure

Transportation incidents (22) were the most frequent type of fatal event in West Virginia, accounting for 38 percent of all fatal work injuries in the state. Nationally the share was 37 percent. (See chart 2 and table 1.)
Exposure to harmful substances or environments (17) accounted for 29 percent of West Virginia workplace fatalities; nationally the share was 16 percent.
Contact incidents (13) resulted in 22 percent of state fatal workplace injuries. Nationally the share was 15 percent.

Clustered column chart of percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and West Virginia, 2023. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and West Virginia, 2023
Event	United States	West Virginia
Transportation incidents	37	38
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	16	29
Contact incidents	15	22
All other	33	10
Note: Percents may not add to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Industry

The transportation and warehousing sector had the highest number of fatalities with 15. (See table 2.)
Transportation incidents resulted in 11 of the 15 transportation and warehousing sector fatalities.
The general freight trucking industry group accounted for eight of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 21. (See table 3.)
Transportation incidents resulted in 15 fatalities in the group.
The broad occupation of drivers/sales workers and truck drivers accounted for 17 of the major group’s fatal workplace injuries.

Worker Characteristics

Wage and salary workers accounted for 91 percent of workplace fatalities in West Virginia; the self-employed comprised the remaining 9 percent. (See chart 1 and table 4.) Nationally, wage and salary workers comprised 83 percent of fatalities.
Males accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities both in West Virginia and nationally.
Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 64 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
White non-Hispanics accounted for 91 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 56 percent of work-related deaths.

Revision of Classification Systems

The 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the updated Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) were implemented with the release of 2023 data. As a result of these changes, comparisons between 2023 CFOI data and previous years should be made with caution. Refer to the national release technical note for more information.

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 fatalities resulting from workplace injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the national CFOI release Technical notes, the BLS Handbook of Methods, and the CFOI definitions.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the WorkForce West Virginia 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 nationally. See the national CFOI release Technical Notes for details on cooperating entities.

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, West Virginia, 2023
Event or Exposure (1)	Number	Percent (%)
All events and exposures	58	100
Violent acts	--	--
Transportation incidents	22	38
Pedestrian incidents involving motorized land vehicles	3	5
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	16	28
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)	5	9
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	5	9
Roadway noncollision incident	6	10
Roadway noncollision- vehicle overturn	4	7
Nonroadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles	3	5
Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle	2	3
Collision with stationary object, nonroadway	2	3
Nonroadway noncollision incident	1	2
Nonroadway noncollision- vehicle overturn	1	2
Explosions and fires	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	--	--
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	17	29
Exposure to electricity	3	5
Exposure to harmful substances	11	19
Drug, alcohol overdose	11	19
Exposure to oxygen deficiency	3	5
Contact incidents	13	22
Struck by propelled, falling, or suspended object	9	16
Struck by falling object	6	10
Struck, caught, or compressed by running powered equipment	4	7
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 3.02 implemented for 2023 data forward.
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. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, West Virginia, 2023
Industry	Number	Percent (%)
Total	58	100
Private industry (1)	55	95
Natural resources and mining	8	14
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	3	5
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	5	9
Construction	10	17
Construction	10	17
Construction of buildings	1	2
Residential building construction	1	2
Residential building construction	1	2
New single-family housing construction (except for-sale builders)	1	2
Heavy and civil engineering construction	3	5
Utility system construction	3	5
Power and communication line and related structures construction	3	5
Specialty trade contractors	5	9
Other specialty trade contractors	1	2
Site preparation contractors	1	2
Nonresidential site preparation contractors	1	2
Manufacturing	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	--	--
Retail trade	4	7
General merchandise retailers	1	2
Department stores	1	2
Department stores	1	2
Transportation and warehousing	15	26
Truck transportation	12	21
General freight trucking	8	14
General freight trucking, long-distance	5	9
Specialized freight trucking	4	7
Support activities for transportation	3	5
Information	--	--
Financial activities	--	--
Professional and business services	--	--
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	7	12
Administrative and support services	4	7
Business support services	1	2
Other business support services	1	2
Repossession services	1	2
Waste management and remediation services	3	5
Educational and health services	3	5
Health care and social assistance	3	5
Leisure and hospitality	--	--
Other services (except public administration)	--	--
Government (2)	3	5
Federal government	--	--
State government	2	3
Local government	1	2
Footnotes: (1) CFOI has used several versions of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) since 2003 to define industry. For complete information on the version of NAICS used in this year, see our concepts page at https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm#industry. (2) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Cases classified as foreign government and other government are included in all government counts, but not displayed separately.
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. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, West Virginia, 2023
Occupation (1)	Number	Percent (%)
All occupations	58	100
Management occupations	--	--
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	--
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	--
Legal occupations	1	2
Educational instruction and library occupations	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	--
Protective service occupations	--	--
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	--
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	--	--
Personal care and service occupations	--	--
Sales and related occupations	--	--
Office and administrative support occupations	1	2
Financial clerks	1	2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	3	5
Construction and extraction occupations	11	19
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	1	2
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	1	2
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	1	2
Construction trades workers	8	14
Construction laborers	4	7
Construction laborers	4	7
Construction equipment operators	1	2
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	1	2
Extraction workers	2	3
Underground mining machine operators	2	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	9
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	9
Line installers and repairers	3	5
Production occupations	3	5
Transportation and material moving occupations	21	36
Motor vehicle operators	18	31
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	17	29
Passenger vehicle drivers	1	2
Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs	1	2
Footnotes: (1) Occupational data are based on the 2018 Standard Occupation Classification (SOC). Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
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. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, West Virginia, 2023
Demographic	Number	Percent (%)
Total	58	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	53	91
Self-employed (2)	5	9
Sex
Male	53	91
Female	5	9
Age (3)
Under 16 years	--	--
16 to 17 years	--	--
18 to 19 years	4	7
20 to 24 years	3	5
25 to 34 years	12	21
35 to 44 years	12	21
45 to 54 years	13	22
55 to 64 years	7	12
65 years and over	7	12
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	53	91
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	--	--
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic	--	--
Asian, non-Hispanic	--	--
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic	--	--
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. Cases where employment status is unknown are included in the counts of wage and salary workers. (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 data for Hispanics and Latinos. Cases where ethnicity is unknown are included in counts of non-Hispanic workers.
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. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 04, 2025

Mid-Atlantic Information Office

Fatal Work Injuries in West Virginia— 2023