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News Release Information

17-129-CHI
Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Fatal Work Injuries in Michigan — 2015

Fatal work injuries totaled 134 in 2015 for Michigan, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Michigan was down from 143 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 182 in 1999 to a low of 94 in 2009. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2015, a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries in 2014, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Michigan, transportation incidents resulted in 45 fatal work injuries and violence or other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 35 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 60 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents were down over the year and worker fatalities due to violence or other injuries by persons or animals were little changed.

Contact with objects or equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 22 fatalities, unchanged from the prior year. Falls, slips, or trips resulted in 19 work-related deaths, down from 24 in 2014.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2015, accounting for approximately 42 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event (17 percent), followed by contact with objects and equipment (15 percent) and violence and other injuries by persons or animals (15 percent).

Industry

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in Michigan with 23, little changed from the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal event with 12 worker deaths, followed by contact with objects and equipment with 4 fatalities. Fifty-two percent those fatally injured in this sector worked in crop production.

The private construction sector had 22 workplace fatalities, little changed from the previous year. Specialty trade contractors accounted for 12, or 55 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations and management occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 29 and 28, respectively. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 13 of the 29 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The majority of the fatalities within the management group were farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers (18).

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 89 percent of the work-related fatalities in Michigan, lower than the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents and violence and other injuries by persons or animals made up 32 percent and 27 percent, respectively, of the fatalities for men in Michigan.
  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 72 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 52 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2015, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
  • Of the 134 fatal work injuries in Michigan, 63 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents; transportation incidents and violence and other injuries by persons or animals were the most frequent fatal events for self-employed workers.
Change in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) News Release Schedule

Beginning with the 2015 reference year, CFOI will publish a single, annual release with no revisions. A similar schedule will be followed in subsequent years. Preliminary releases, which normally appeared in August or September in past years, will no longer be produced.


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. For the 2015 data, over 21,400 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 web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of 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.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs 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 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, Michigan, 2014–15
Event or exposure (1)20142015
NumberNumberPercent

Total

143134100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

323526

Intentional injury by person

273425

Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)

182216

Shooting by other person--intentional

141914

Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)

9129

Shooting--intentional self-harm

475

Transportation incidents

514534

Aircraft incidents

532

Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing

--32

Pedestrian vehicular incident

1054

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

252720

Roadway collision with other vehicle

141410

Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming

454

Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly

632

Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway

143

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

875

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

664

Roadway noncollision incident

364

Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway

--54

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

5107

Nonroadway noncollision incident

486

Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway

--43

Fall or jump from and struck by same vehicle in normal operation, nonroadway

--32

Fires and explosions

332

Falls, slips, trips

241914

Falls on same level

454

Falls to lower level

201410

Other fall to lower level

17107

Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet

432

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

11107

Exposure to other harmful substances

564

Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose

332

Inhalation of harmful substance

--32

Inhalation of harmful substance--single episode

--32

Contact with objects and equipment

222216

Struck by object or equipment

15129

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

464

Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle

954

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

454

Caught in running equipment or machinery

454

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

343

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, Michigan, 2014–15
Industry (1)20142015
NumberNumberPercent

Total

143134100

Private industry

13412795

Natural resources and mining

252418

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

252317

Crop production

12129

Oilseed and grain farming

464

Corn farming

332

Animal production and aquaculture

697

Cattle ranching and farming

675

Dairy cattle and milk production

554

Construction

232216

Construction

232216

Construction of buildings

886

Residential building construction

564

Residential building construction

564

Residential remodelers

543

Specialty trade contractors

14129

Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors

543

Building equipment contractors

654

Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors

343

Manufacturing

111914

Manufacturing

111914

Food manufacturing

--32

Fabricated metal product manufacturing

132

Transportation equipment manufacturing

443

Motor vehicle manufacturing

--32

Automobile and light duty motor vehicle manufacturing

--32

Automobile manufacturing

--32

Trade, transportation, and utilities

392821

Wholesale trade

686

Merchant wholesalers, durable goods

432

Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods

254

Retail trade

1386

Transportation and warehousing

19129

Truck transportation

1243

General freight trucking

843

General freight trucking, long-distance

732

General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload

632

Support activities for transportation

132

Financial activities

586

Real estate and rental and leasing

475

Real estate

354

Lessors of real estate

--43

Lessors of residential buildings and dwellings

--32

Professional and business services

8129

Professional and technical services

--43

Professional, scientific, and technical services

--43

Administrative and waste services

786

Administrative and support services

586

Services to buildings and dwellings

454

Landscaping services

332

Leisure and hospitality

986

Accommodation and food services

664

Food services and drinking places

464

Restaurants and other eating places

343

Restaurants and other eating places

343

Limited-service restaurants

--43

Other services, except public administration

954

Other services, except public administration

954

Repair and maintenance

432

Government (2)

975

Federal government

--11

State government

321

Local government

543

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, Michigan, 2014–15
Occupation (1)20142015
NumberNumberPercent

Total

143134100

Management occupations

222821

Other management occupations

192418

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

111813

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

111813

Property, real estate, and community association managers

343

Property, real estate, and community association managers

343

Protective service occupations

343

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

643

Grounds maintenance workers

132

Grounds maintenance workers

132

Sales and related occupations

986

Supervisors of sales workers

454

First-line supervisors of sales workers

454

First-line supervisors of retail sales workers

343

Office and administrative support occupations

532

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

1186

Agricultural workers

654

Miscellaneous agricultural workers

654

Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals

132

Forest, conservation, and logging workers

532

Construction and extraction occupations

192216

Supervisors of construction and extraction workers

332

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

332

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

332

Construction trades workers

151713

Construction laborers

886

Construction laborers

886

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

1275

Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

754

Maintenance and repair workers, general

--43

Maintenance and repair workers, general

--43

Production occupations

8129

Supervisors of production workers

--54

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

--54

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

--54

Other production occupations

--32

Transportation and material moving occupations

312922

Motor vehicle operators

172317

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

152015

Driver/sales workers

--32

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

141310

Light truck or delivery services drivers

143

Material moving workers

954

Laborers and material movers, hand

543

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

532

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 worker characteristics, Michigan, 2014–15
Worker characteristics20142015
NumberNumberPercent

Total

143134100

Employee status

 

Wage and salary workers (1)

928563

Self-employed (2)

514937

Gender

 

Men

12511989

Women

181511

Age (3)

 

Under 16 years

--11

16 to 17 years

--11

18 to 19 years

--11

20 to 24 years

1197

25 to 34 years

211914

35 to 44 years

322317

45 to 54 years

312821

55 to 64 years

262619

65 years and over

222619

Race or ethnic origin (4)

 

White, non-Hispanic

1179672

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

151813

Hispanic or Latino

6129

Asian, non-Hispanic

343

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.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2017