Fatal Work Injuries in Nebraska — 2023

Fatal work injuries totaled 46 in 2023 for Nebraska, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Nebraska was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 83 in 1994 and 2002 to a low of 35 in 2017. 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 bar chart of number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, Nebraska, 2014 to 2023. An 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, Nebraska, 2014–23
Year	Total	Wage and salary	Self-employed
2014	55	37	18
2015	50	30	20
2016	60	45	15
2017	35	23	12
2018	44	35	9
2019	53	40	13
2020	48	28	20
2021	39	30	9
2022	57	45	12
2023	46	37	9
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fatal event or exposure

Transportation incidents (21) were the most frequent type of fatal event in Nebraska, accounting for 46 percent of all fatal work injuries in the state. Nationally the share was 37 percent. (See chart 2 and table 1.)
Contact incidents (8) accounted for 17 percent of Nebraska workplace fatalities; nationally the share was 15 percent.

Bar chart of percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and Nebraska, 2023. An 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 Nebraska, 2023
Event	United States	Nebraska
Transportation incidents	37	46
Contact incidents	15	17
Violent acts	14	13
Falls, slips, trips	17	9
All other	18	15
Note: Percents may not add to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Private industry

The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector had the highest number of fatalities with 11. (See table 2.)
Transportation incidents resulted in 5 of the 11 agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector fatalities.
The crop production subsector accounted for six of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 14. (See table 3.)
Transportation incidents resulted in 10 of the transportation and material moving occupational group fatalities.
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers accounted for six of the major group’s fatal workplace injuries.

Worker characteristics

Wage and salary workers accounted for 80 percent of workplace fatalities in Nebraska; the self-employed comprised the remaining 20 percent. (See chart 1 and table 4.) Nationally, wage and salary workers comprised 83 percent of fatalities.
Males accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in Nebraska and 91 percent nationally.
Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 48 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally. Workers 55 years and older accounted for 41 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2023, compared to 35 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

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 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 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, Nebraska, 2023
Event or Exposure (1)	Number	Percent (%)
All events and exposures	46	100
Violent acts	6	13
Homicides (violent acts by other person)	6	13
Shooting by other person	3	7
Transportation incidents	21	46
Aircraft incidents	1	2
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	1	2
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing into structure, object, or ground	1	2
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	13	28
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)	8	17
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)-moving in same direction	2	4
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)-moving in opposite directions, oncoming	3	7
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	1	2
Collision with object or animal on side of roadway	1	2
Roadway noncollision incident	4	9
Nonroadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles	4	9
Nonroadway noncollision incident	4	9
Explosions and fires	3	7
Explosions	3	7
Falls, slips, trips	4	9
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	4	9
Contact incidents	8	17
Collapse, engulfment	3	7
Collapse, engulfment- loose materials or liquids	3	7
Struck, caught, or compressed by running powered equipment	3	7
Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery	1	2
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, Nebraska, 2023
Industry	Number	Percentage (%)
Total	46	100
Private industry (1)	42	91
Natural resources and mining	11	24
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	11	24
Crop production	6	13
Oilseed and grain farming	3	7
Corn farming	3	7
Animal production and aquaculture	5	11
Cattle ranching and farming	5	11
Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots	3	7
Beef cattle ranching and farming	1	2
Construction	4	9
Construction	4	9
Manufacturing	4	9
Manufacturing	4	9
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	1	2
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing	1	2
All other fabricated metal product manufacturing	1	2
Ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing	1	2
Miscellaneous manufacturing	1	2
Other miscellaneous manufacturing	1	2
All other miscellaneous manufacturing	1	2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	--	--
Wholesale trade	6	13
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	1	2
Lumber and other construction materials merchant wholesalers	1	2
Brick, stone, and related construction material merchant wholesalers	1	2
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	5	11
Transportation and warehousing	4	9
Truck transportation	3	7
General freight trucking	2	4
Specialized freight trucking	1	2
Used household and office goods moving	1	2
Couriers and messengers	1	2
Couriers and express delivery services	1	2
Couriers and express delivery services	1	2
Information	--	--
Financial activities	--	--
Professional and business services	3	7
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	3	7
Administrative and support services	1	2
Business support services	1	2
Business service centers	1	2
Private mail centers	1	2
Waste management and remediation services	2	4
Waste collection	2	4
Waste collection	2	4
Solid waste collection	2	4
Educational and health services	1	2
Educational services	1	2
Educational services	1	2
Technical and trade schools	1	2
Technical and trade schools	1	2
Leisure and hospitality	--	--
Accommodation and food services	1	2
Food services and drinking places	1	2
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	1	2
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	1	2
Other services (except public administration)	1	2
Other services (except public administration)	1	2
Repair and maintenance	1	2
Automotive repair and maintenance	1	2
Automotive mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance	1	2
Government (2)	4	9
Federal government	--	--
State government	3	7
Local government	--	--
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, Nebraska, 2023
Occupation (1)	Number	Percentage (%)
All occupations	46	100
Management occupations	9	20
Operations specialties managers	1	2
Industrial production managers	1	2
Industrial production managers	1	2
Other management occupations	8	17
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	--	--
Other protective service workers	1	2
Security guards and gambling surveillance officers	1	2
Security guards	1	2
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	--
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	2	4
Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	1	2
First-line supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	1	2
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers	1	2
Grounds maintenance workers	1	2
Grounds maintenance workers	1	2
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	1	2
Personal care and service occupations	1	2
Animal care and service workers	1	2
Animal trainers	1	2
Animal trainers	1	2
Sales and related occupations	3	7
Office and administrative support occupations	1	2
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	1	2
Postal service workers	1	2
Postal service mail carriers	1	2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	4	9
Agricultural workers	4	9
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	4	9
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals	4	9
Construction and extraction occupations	--	--
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	--
Production occupations	3	7
Supervisors of production workers	1	2
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	1	2
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	1	2
Transportation and material moving occupations	14	30
Air transportation workers	1	2
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	1	2
Commercial pilots	1	2
Motor vehicle operators	7	15
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	6	13
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	4	9
Material moving workers	6	13
Laborers and material movers	4	9
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	4	9
Refuse and recyclable material collectors	2	4
Refuse and recyclable material collectors	2	4
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, Nebraska, 2023
Demographic	Number	Percentage (%)
Total	46	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	37	80
Self-employed (2)	9	20
Sex
Male	43	93
Female	3	7
Age (3)
Under 16 years	--	--
16 to 17 years	--	--
18 to 19 years	--	--
20 to 24 years	5	11
25 to 34 years	7	15
35 to 44 years	8	17
45 to 54 years	7	15
55 to 64 years	8	17
65 years and over	11	24
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	--	--
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: Thursday, March 27, 2025

Midwest Information Office

Fatal Work Injuries in Nebraska — 2023