Fatal work injuries totaled 113 in 2019 for Wisconsin, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Wisconsin was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 138 in 1993 to a low of 77 in 2008.

Nationwide, a total of 5,333 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2019, a 2-percent increase from the 5,250 in 2018, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. The 5,333 fatal occupational injuries in 2019 represents the largest annual number since 2007.

Fatal event or exposure

In Wisconsin, transportation incidents resulted in 41 fatal work injuries, and falls, slips, and trips accounted for 23 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 57 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 48 over the year, and worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips were up from 14.

Contact with objects or equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 17 fatalities, down from 20 in the prior year. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 15 work-related deaths, unchanged from 2018.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2019, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent).

Industry

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry had the highest number of fatalities in Wisconsin with 25. (See table 2.) Contact with objects and equipment resulted in 7 of the 25 fatalities in the industry. The dairy cattle and milk production sector accounted for 14 of the 25 workplace fatalities in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry.

The private transportation and warehousing industry had 12 workplace fatalities. The specialized freight trucking sector accounted for six, or 50 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 25. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 14 of the 25 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second highest number of workplace fatalities with 20, followed by management occupations with 17. Construction trades workers suffered 13 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for 13 of the 17 management occupational fatalities.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 88 percent of the work-related fatalities in Wisconsin, compared to the national share of 92 percent. (See table 4.) Falls, slips, or trips made up 20 percent of the fatalities for men in Wisconsin.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 81 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 62 percent of work-related deaths.

• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 54 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2019, similar to the national share.

• Of the 113 fatal work injuries in Wisconsin, 68 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both wage and salary workers and self-employed workers was transportation incidents.

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 fatal work 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 2019 national data, over 25,100 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 on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm and the CFOI definitions at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm.

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 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, 2018–19

Event or exposure (1)	2018	2019
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	114	113	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	15	15	13
Intentional injury by person	12	13	12
Intentional injury by other person	8	5	4
Shooting by other person--intentional	6	3	3
Self-inflicted injury--intentional	4	8	7
Shooting--intentional self-harm	3	3	3
Transportation incidents	48	41	36
Pedestrian vehicular incident	8	5	4
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	21	27	24
Roadway collision with other vehicle	13	19	17
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	5	6	5
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	5	8	7
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	--	3	3
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	6	5
Roadway noncollision incident	5	2	2
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	4	1	1
Fall or jump from and struck by same vehicle in normal operation, roadway	--	1	1
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	9	7	6
Nonroadway noncollision incident	5	7	6
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	3	3	3
Ran off driving surface, nonroadway	--	3	3
Fires and explosions	3	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	14	23	20
Falls on same level	4	7	6
Falls to lower level	8	16	14
Other fall to lower level	7	12	11
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	13	14	12
Exposure to electricity	--	3	3
Direct exposure to electricity	--	3	3
Direct exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts	--	3	3
Exposure to other harmful substances	9	7	6
Contact with objects and equipment	20	17	15
Struck by object or equipment	10	10	9
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	5	3	3
Struck or run over by rolling powered vehicle	--	1	1
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	4	5	4
Overexertion and bodily reaction	--	--	--
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. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. 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, Wisconsin, 2019

Industry (1)	Number	Percent
Total	113	100
Private industry (2)	103	91
Goods producing	--	--
Natural resources and mining	25	22
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	25	22
Crop production	9	8
Oilseed and grain farming	3	3
Vegetable and melon farming	1	1
Vegetable and melon farming	1	1
Potato farming	1	1
Animal production and aquaculture	16	14
Cattle ranching and farming	14	12
Dairy cattle and milk production	14	12
Construction	--	--
Service providing (3)	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	23	20
Wholesale trade	5	4
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	3	3
Retail trade	6	5
Transportation and warehousing	12	11
Truck transportation	10	9
General freight trucking	4	4
Specialized freight trucking	6	5
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, local	3	3
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, long-distance	3	3
Financial activities	4	4
Real estate and rental and leasing	4	4
Real estate	4	4
Activities related to real estate	4	4
Real estate property managers	3	3
Professional and business services	9	8
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	9	8
Educational and health services	--	--
Leisure and hospitality	--	--
Accommodation and food services	6	5
Food services and drinking places	6	5
Restaurants and other eating places	6	5
Restaurants and other eating places	6	5
Limited-service restaurants	4	4
Other services, except public administration	3	3
Other services, except public administration	3	3
Government (4)	10	9
Federal government	--	--
State government	--	--
Local government	8	7
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 definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. (2) Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts. (3) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts. (4) 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 final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. 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, Wisconsin, 2019

Occupation (1)	Number	Percent
Total	113	100
Management occupations	17	15
Top executives	1	1
Chief executives	1	1
Chief executives	1	1
Other management occupations	16	14
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	13	12
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	13	12
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	--	--
Educational instruction and library occupations	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	--
Protective service occupations	4	4
Food preparation and serving related occupations	3	3
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	4	4
Personal care and service occupations	--	--
Sales and related occupations	4	4
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	12	11
Agricultural workers	12	11
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	12	11
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	5	4
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals	4	4
Construction and extraction occupations	20	18
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	6	5
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	6	5
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	6	5
Construction trades workers	13	12
Carpenters	3	3
Carpenters	3	3
Construction laborers	4	4
Construction laborers	4	4
Other construction and related workers	1	1
Highway maintenance workers	1	1
Highway maintenance workers	1	1
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	13	12
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	5	4
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	8	7
Maintenance and repair workers, general	6	5
Maintenance and repair workers, general	6	5
Production occupations	7	6
Transportation and material moving occupations	25	22
Motor vehicle operators	21	19
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	21	19
Driver/sales workers	4	4
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	14	12
Light truck drivers	3	3
Material moving workers	4	4
Military specific occupations (2)	--	--
Footnotes: (1) CFOI has used several versions of the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system since 2003 to define occupation. For complete information on the version of SOC used in this year, see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total. (2) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. 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, Wisconsin, 2018–19

Worker characteristics	2018	2019
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	114	113	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	78	77	68
Self-employed (2)	36	36	32
Gender
Men	101	100	88
Women	13	13	12
Age (3)
Under 16 years	5	4	4
20 to 24 years	5	5	4
25 to 34 years	19	13	12
35 to 44 years	16	19	17
45 to 54 years	16	29	26
55 to 64 years	26	23	20
65 years and over	26	18	16
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	102	92	81
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	4	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	7	11	10
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 final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. 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.