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News Release Information

19-34-CHI
Tuesday, April 30, 2019

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

Fatal Work Injuries in Wisconsin — 2017

Fatal work injuries totaled 106 in 2017 for Wisconsin, 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 Wisconsin was little changed from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 138 in 1993 to a low of 77 in 2008. (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 Wisconsin, transportation incidents resulted in 35 fatal work injuries and accounted for 33 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents decreased from 38 in the previous year.

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 20 fatal work events in the state, down from 23 in 2016. Contact with objects or equipment also accounted for 20 fatal work injuries, up from 16 in the prior 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 largest number of fatalities in Wisconsin with 24, up from 20 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 10 of the 24 fatalities in the industry. The crop production sector accounted for one-half of the workplace fatalities in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry.

The private construction industry had 17 workplace fatalities, up from 12 in the previous year. The specialty trade contractors sector accounted for 14 of the 17 workplace fatalities in the construction industry. The manufacturing industry had 9 workplace fatalities, down from 12 in the previous year. Food product manufacturing accounted for 5, or 56 percent, of the fatalities within the manufacturing industry.

Occupation

Management occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 27. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for 21 of the 27 workplace fatalities within the management occupational group. The transportation and material moving occupational group had the second-most number of fatal injuries with 17. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 8 of the 17 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had 15 worker deaths; construction trades workers suffered 13 fatal injuries within this group. (See table 3.)

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 92 percent of the work-related fatalities in Wisconsin, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 33 percent of the fatalities for men in Wisconsin.

  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 87 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 44 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

  • Of the 106 fatally-injured workers in Wisconsin, 62 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both groups of workers 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 Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene 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, Wisconsin, 2016–17
Event or exposure (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

105106100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

232019

Intentional injury by person

211918

Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)

111110

Shooting by other person--intentional

988

Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)

1088

Shooting--intentional self-harm

744

Transportation incidents

383533

Pedestrian vehicular incident

744

Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area

544

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

222120

Roadway collision with other vehicle

121413

Roadway collision--moving in same direction

344

Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming

566

Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly

433

Roadway noncollision incident

666

Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway

455

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

788

Nonroadway noncollision incident

666

Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway

333

Fires and explosions

--77

Explosions

--66

Dust explosion

--55

Falls, slips, trips

161817

Falls to lower level

121514

Other fall to lower level

81312

Other fall to lower level less than 6 feet

--11

Other fall to lower level 6 to 10 feet

--44

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

1166

Exposure to other harmful substances

866

Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose

--33

Contact with objects and equipment

162019

Struck by object or equipment

121918

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

655

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

498

Struck by discharged or flying object

--44

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, Wisconsin, 2016–17
Industry (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

105106100

Private industry

989691

Natural resources and mining

202423

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

202423

Crop production

91211

Animal production and aquaculture

11109

Cattle ranching and farming

1098

Dairy cattle and milk production

1044

Construction

121716

Construction

121716

Specialty trade contractors

101413

Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors

555

Roofing contractors

--33

Building equipment contractors

--55

Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors

--33

Building finishing contractors

--33

Drywall and insulation contractors

--11

Residential drywall and insulation contractors

--11

Manufacturing

1298

Manufacturing

1298

Food manufacturing

--55

Trade, transportation, and utilities

241817

Wholesale trade

744

Retail trade

677

Transportation and warehousing

1077

Truck transportation

777

General freight trucking

533

Specialized freight trucking

--44

Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, long-distance

--33

Information

------

Information

------

Telecommunications

------

Wired telecommunications carriers

--11

Financial activities

--77

Finance and insurance

------

Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities

--11

Other financial investment activities

--11

Investment advice

--11

Real estate and rental and leasing

--44

Real estate

--44

Professional and business services

1577

Professional and technical services

733

Professional, scientific, and technical services

733

Legal services

--11

Offices of lawyers

--11

Administrative and waste services

844

Administrative and support services

644

Educational and health services

444

Health care and social assistance

344

Hospitals

--33

General medical and surgical hospitals

--33

Social assistance

111

Vocational rehabilitation services

111

Leisure and hospitality

755

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

------

Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries

--11

Spectator sports

--11

Spectator sports

--11

Accommodation and food services

633

Other services, except public administration

333

Other services, except public administration

333

Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations

------

Grantmaking and giving services

--11

Grantmaking and giving services

--11

Voluntary health organizations

--11

Government (2)

7109

State government

--55

Local government

755

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, Wisconsin, 2016–17
Occupation (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

105106100

Management occupations

172725

Other management occupations

152524

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

122120

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

122120

Business and financial operations occupations

5----

Business operations specialists

111

Fundraisers

--11

Fundraisers

--11

Legal occupations

--11

Lawyers, judges, and related workers

--11

Lawyers and judicial law clerks

--11

Lawyers

--11

Education, training, and library occupations

1----

Other teachers and instructors

--11

Self-enrichment education teachers

--11

Self-enrichment education teachers

--11

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

--11

Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers

--11

Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers

--11

Athletes and sports competitors

--11

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

333

Health technologists and technicians

311

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics

--11

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics

--11

Protective service occupations

333

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

833

Office and administrative support occupations

--44

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

844

Forest, conservation, and logging workers

------

Logging workers

------

Fallers

--11

Construction and extraction occupations

131514

Construction trades workers

81312

Electricians

--33

Electricians

--33

Roofers

--33

Roofers

--33

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

9109

Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

388

Maintenance and repair workers, general

--44

Maintenance and repair workers, general

--44

Production occupations

798

Other production occupations

--55

Miscellaneous production workers

133

Transportation and material moving occupations

191716

Motor vehicle operators

121110

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

1198

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

988

Material moving workers

566

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, Wisconsin, 2016–17
Worker characteristics20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

105106100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

676662

Self-employed (2)

384038

Gender

Men

899792

Women

1698

Age (3)

20 to 24 years

566

25 to 34 years

191514

35 to 44 years

121615

45 to 54 years

211615

55 to 64 years

202423

65 years and over

232927

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White (non-Hispanic)

909287

Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)

944

Hispanic or Latino

477

Asian (non-Hispanic)

--33

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: Tuesday, April 30, 2019