Fatal work injuries totaled 35 in 2017 for Nebraska, 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 Nebraska decreased from 60 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 83 in 1994 and 2002 to a low of 35 in 2017. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,147 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2017, down slightly from the 5,190 fatal injuries reported in 2016, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Nebraska, transportation incidents resulted in 20 fatal work injuries, accounting for 57 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents decreased by 16 over the year. Fatalities from contact with objects or equipment resulted in seven workplace deaths, a decrease of two from the previous year.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2017, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (14 percent).

Industry

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry had the highest number of fatalities in Nebraska with 12, a decrease of 6 from the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in the industry with six worker deaths, followed by contact with objects or equipment with five fatalities. The crop production sector accounted for nine, or 75 percent of the fatal injuries in this industry.

The private transportation and warehousing industry had five workplace fatalities, a decrease of three from the previous year. All of the fatalities in this industry occurred in the truck transportation sector.

Occupation

The management occupational group and the transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with eight and seven each, respectively. (See table 3.) Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for six of the fatalities in the management group; heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers suffered six of the fatalities within the transportation and material moving group.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 33 or 94 percent of the work-related fatalities in Nebraska, similar to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 61 percent of the fatalities for men in Nebraska.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 77 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.

• Workers who were 55 years of age and older accounted for 60 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 37 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• Of the 35 fatally-injured workers in Nebraska, 66 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both groups was transportation incidents.

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 2017 national data, over 23,400 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 website at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, even those that may be outside the scope of other agencies or 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. More on the scope of CFOI can be found at www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court 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, Nebraska, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	60	35	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	4	2	6
Intentional injury by person	3	2	6
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	--	2	6
Shooting by other person--intentional	1	1	3
Transportation incidents	36	20	57
Rail vehicle incidents	1	1	3
Collision between rail vehicle and another vehicle	1	1	3
Collision between rail and roadway vehicles	1	1	3
Animal and other non-motorized vehicle transportation incidents	1	1	3
Animal transportation incident	--	1	3
Pedestrian vehicular incident	3	3	9
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in work zone	2	1	3
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in work zone	2	1	3
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	--	1	3
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	--	1	3
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	22	11	31
Roadway collision with other vehicle	13	4	11
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	6	1	3
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	4	1	3
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	3	2	6
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	5	14
Vehicle struck object or animal in roadway	--	2	6
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	3	3	9
Roadway noncollision incident	6	1	3
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	6	1	3
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	7	4	11
Nonroadway noncollision incident	6	3	9
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	5	2	6
Fires and explosions	2	1	3
Fires	--	1	3
Other structural fire without collapse	--	1	3
Falls, slips, trips	6	4	11
Contact with objects and equipment	9	7	20
Struck by object or equipment	4	6	17
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	--	4	11
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, Nebraska, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	60	35	100
Private industry	55	31	89
Natural resources and mining	18	12	34
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	18	12	34
Crop production	11	9	26
Oilseed and grain farming	--	2	6
Soybean farming	--	1	3
Other grain farming	--	1	3
Oilseed and grain combination farming	--	1	3
Vegetable and melon farming	1	1	3
Vegetable and melon farming	1	1	3
Potato farming	1	1	3
Animal production and aquaculture	6	3	9
Cattle ranching and farming	5	2	6
Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots	5	2	6
Beef cattle ranching and farming	5	2	6
Poultry and egg production	--	1	3
Chicken egg production	--	1	3
Construction	6	--	--
Construction	6	--	--
Specialty trade contractors	2	--	--
Building equipment contractors	--	1	3
Electrical contractors	--	1	3
Manufacturing	1	1	3
Manufacturing	1	1	3
Food manufacturing	--	1	3
Animal slaughtering and processing	--	1	3
Animal slaughtering and processing	--	1	3
Rendering and meat byproduct processing	--	1	3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	15	8	23
Wholesale trade	4	1	3
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	1	1	3
Electrical and electronic goods merchant wholesalers	--	1	3
Electrical apparatus and equipment, wiring supplies, and related equipment merchant wholesalers	--	1	3
Retail trade	3	2	6
Gasoline stations	2	1	3
Gasoline stations	2	1	3
Gasoline stations with convenience stores	2	1	3
General merchandise stores	1	1	3
Other general merchandise stores	--	1	3
Warehouse clubs and supercenters	--	1	3
Transportation and warehousing	8	5	14
Truck transportation	8	5	14
General freight trucking	6	2	6
General freight trucking, long-distance	5	2	6
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload	5	2	6
Specialized freight trucking	2	3	9
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, local	--	2	6
Information	1	1	3
Information	1	1	3
Telecommunications	--	1	3
Wired telecommunications carriers	--	1	3
Leisure and hospitality	3	3	9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	2	2	6
Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries	2	1	3
Spectator sports	2	1	3
Spectator sports	2	1	3
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	--	1	3
Other amusement and recreation industries	--	1	3
Golf courses and country clubs	--	1	3
Accommodation and food services	1	1	3
Food services and drinking places	--	1	3
Restaurants and other eating places	--	1	3
Restaurants and other eating places	--	1	3
Limited-service restaurants	--	1	3
Other services, except public administration	2	3	9
Other services, except public administration	2	3	9
Repair and maintenance	--	2	6
Commercial machinery repair and maintenance	--	2	6
Personal and laundry services	--	1	3
Death care services	--	1	3
Cemeteries and crematories	--	1	3
Government (2)	5	4	11
Local government	--	2	6
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, Nebraska, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	60	35	100
Management occupations	11	8	23
Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers	--	1	3
Marketing and sales managers	--	1	3
Sales managers	--	1	3
Other management occupations	11	7	20
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	11	6	17
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	11	6	17
Miscellaneous managers	--	1	3
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	3	1	3
Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers	2	1	3
Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers	2	1	3
Athletes and sports competitors	2	1	3
Protective service occupations	2	1	3
Supervisors of protective service workers	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of law enforcement workers	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of police and detectives	--	1	3
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	6	--	--
Grounds maintenance workers	3	1	3
Grounds maintenance workers	3	1	3
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	3	1	3
Sales and related occupations	2	1	3
Retail sales workers	1	1	3
Cashiers	1	1	3
Cashiers	1	1	3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	4	4	11
Agricultural workers	4	4	11
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	4	4	11
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	--	3	9
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals	4	1	3
Construction and extraction occupations	5	4	11
Construction trades workers	5	3	9
Electricians	--	1	3
Electricians	--	1	3
Other construction and related workers	--	1	3
Highway maintenance workers	--	1	3
Highway maintenance workers	--	1	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	4	11
Electrical and electronic equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	--	1	3
Radio and telecommunications equipment installers and repairers	--	1	3
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers	--	1	3
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	--	1	3
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics	--	1	3
Farm equipment mechanics and service technicians	--	1	3
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	2	2	6
Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers	--	1	3
Industrial machinery mechanics	--	1	3
Maintenance and repair workers, general	2	1	3
Maintenance and repair workers, general	2	1	3
Transportation and material moving occupations	15	7	20
Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers	--	--	--
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators	--	1	3
Motor vehicle operators	11	6	17
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	11	6	17
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	11	6	17
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 selected demographic characteristics, Nebraska, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	60	35	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	45	23	66
Self-employed (2)	15	12	34
Gender
Men	52	33	94
Women	8	--	--
Age (3)
25 to 34 years	9	2	6
35 to 44 years	8	6	17
45 to 54 years	6	4	11
55 to 64 years	15	10	29
65 years and over	17	11	31
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White (non-Hispanic)	54	27	77
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	3	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	--	4	11
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.