Fatal work injuries totaled 194 in 2017 for Georgia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Georgia was up from 171 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 249 in 1994 to a low of 101 in 2012. (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 results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Georgia, transportation incidents resulted in 96 fatal work injuries, up from 76 in 2016, and accounted for about half (49 percent) of all workplace fatalities. (See table 1.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent fatal event in Georgia with 30 fatalities, followed by falls, slips, or trips (27).

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 common fatal event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent).

Industry

The private transportation and warehousing sector had the largest number of fatalities in Georgia with 39, little changed from the previous year. (See table 2.) General freight trucking accounted for 18, or 46 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

The private construction sector had 34 workplace fatalities, similar to the count in the previous year. Twenty-two, or 65 percent, of those fatally injured in this industry worked in the specialty trade contractors subsector.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations and construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 67 and 33, respectively. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within the transportation and material moving group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (37). Construction laborers accounted for 12 of the 33 fatalities among construction and extraction workers.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 89 percent of the work-related fatalities in Georgia, compared to 93 percent nationwide. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 49 percent of the fatalities for men in Georgia.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for 61 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 55-64 years old accounted for 26 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 22 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 194 fatally-injured workers in Georgia, 81 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 Bureau of Labor Statistics (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 the Georgia 2017 data, 921 unique source documents were reviewed. 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 Georgia Department of Health 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, Georgia, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	171	194	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	37	30	15
Intentional injury by person	37	27	14
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	31	19	10
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	5	8	4
Injury by person--unintentional or intent unknown	--	2	1
Transportation incidents	76	96	49
Aircraft incidents	5	6	3
Rail vehicle incidents	3	1	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	9	14	7
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	55	70	36
Roadway collision with other vehicle	26	47	24
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	6	16	8
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	8	17	9
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	7	11	6
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	2	2	1
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle on side of roadway	3	1	1
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	19	13	7
Vehicle struck object or animal in roadway	--	1	1
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	19	11	6
Vehicle struck by falling or flying object--roadway	--	1	1
Roadway noncollision incident	10	10	5
Fires and explosions	2	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	29	27	14
Falls to lower level	26	25	13
Fall through surface or existing opening	5	5	3
Other fall to lower level	18	19	10
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	14	13	7
Exposure to electricity	6	3	2
Exposure to other harmful substances	4	8	4
Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.	--	1	1
Contact with objects and equipment	13	25	13
Struck by object or equipment	8	16	8
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	1	6	3
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, Georgia, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	171	194	100
Private industry	151	169	87
Natural resources and mining	8	15	8
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	7	14	7
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (2)	1	1	1
Construction	35	34	18
Construction	35	34	18
Construction of buildings	4	9	5
Heavy and civil engineering construction	5	3	2
Specialty trade contractors	26	22	11
Manufacturing	12	14	7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	55	57	29
Wholesale trade	5	7	4
Retail trade	11	11	6
Transportation and warehousing	37	39	20
Air transportation	2	2	1
Truck transportation	21	25	13
General freight trucking	11	18	9
General freight trucking, local	--	5	3
General freight trucking, long-distance	8	13	7
Specialized freight trucking	10	7	4
Transit and ground passenger transportation	6	3	2
Support activities for transportation	4	4	2
Information	1	4	2
Financial activities	--	6	3
Real estate and rental and leasing	--	4	2
Professional and business services	16	21	11
Professional and technical services	--	6	3
Administrative and waste services	14	15	8
Administrative and support services	12	12	6
Services to buildings and dwellings	9	9	5
Educational and health services	3	3	2
Educational services	3	2	1
Health care and social assistance	--	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	11	9	5
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	--	1	1
Accommodation and food services	11	8	4
Other services, except public administration	8	6	3
Government (3)	20	25	13
Federal government	6	9	5
State government	2	3	2
Local government	12	13	7
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining (Sector 21) in the North American Industry Classification System, 2012, including establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in Oil and Gas Extraction. (3) 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, Georgia, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	171	194	100
Management occupations	6	9	5
Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers	--	1	1
Other management occupations	6	7	4
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	3	2
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	--	--
Legal occupations	1	--	--
Education, training, and library occupations	1	1	1
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	3	2
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	2	1
Healthcare support occupations	--	--	--
Protective service occupations	13	13	7
Supervisors of protective service workers	4	2	1
Fire fighting and prevention workers	--	2	1
Law enforcement workers	6	7	4
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	5	3
Supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	--	3	2
Cooks and food preparation workers	1	2	1
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	15	11	6
Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	1	1	1
Building cleaning and pest control workers	4	4	2
Grounds maintenance workers	10	6	3
Personal care and service occupations	--	1	1
Sales and related occupations	10	11	6
Supervisors of sales workers	4	4	2
Retail sales workers	4	5	3
Office and administrative support occupations	8	4	2
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	6	3	2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	--	4	2
Agricultural workers	--	4	2
Construction and extraction occupations	32	33	17
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	--	4	2
Construction trades workers	30	24	12
Carpenters	5	1	1
Construction laborers	12	12	6
Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	--	3	2
Roofers	4	1	1
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	17	11	6
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	7	3	2
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	10	8	4
Production occupations	5	8	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	55	67	35
Air transportation workers	4	3	2
Motor vehicle operators	43	52	27
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	36	46	24
Driver/sales workers	5	5	3
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	29	37	19
Light truck or delivery services drivers	--	4	2
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	4	4	2
Material moving workers	6	10	5
Military specific occupations (2)	1	5	3
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (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. 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, Georgia, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	171	194	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	134	158	81
Self-employed (2)	37	36	19
Gender
Men	161	173	89
Women	10	21	11
Age (3)
18 to 19 years	2	2	1
20 to 24 years	8	14	7
25 to 34 years	31	30	15
35 to 44 years	27	41	21
45 to 54 years	52	33	17
55 to 64 years	41	50	26
65 years and over	10	23	12
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	95	118	61
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	50	43	22
Hispanic or Latino	16	24	12
Asian, non-Hispanic	10	9	5
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.