Fatal work injuries totaled 70 in 2017 for Kentucky, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Kentucky declined by 22 from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 158 in 1994 to a low of 69 in 2010. (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 Kentucky, transportation incidents accounted for 28, or 40 percent of fatal work injuries in 2017, a decrease from 47 fatalities in 2016. (See table 1.) Falls, slips, or trips and contact with objects and equipment resulted in 12 fatal events each. Collectively, these two categories accounted for 34 percent of the state’s workplace fatalities in 2017.

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 agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector had the largest number of fatalities in Kentucky with 18, little changed from 16 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Crop production accounted for 8, or 44 percent of the fatal injuries in this industry.

The private construction industry sector had 11 workplace fatalities, little changed from 9 in the previous year. Six of those fatally injured in this sector worked in the specialty trade contractors’ industry subsector.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group and the construction and extraction occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 16 and 15, respectively. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 10 of the 16 fatalities in the transportation and material moving occupational group. Construction trades workers accounted for 12 of the 15 workplace fatalities among construction and extraction workers.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities in Kentucky, compared to 93 percent nationwide. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 38 percent of the fatalities for men in Kentucky.

• 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 45 years old and over accounted for 64 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• Of the 70 fatally-injured workers in Kentucky, 71 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 Kentucky 2017 data, 314 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 Kentucky 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, Kentucky, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	92	70	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	11	8	11
Intentional injury by person	8	7	10
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	6	6	9
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	--	1	1
Transportation incidents	47	28	40
Pedestrian vehicular incident	13	6	9
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	29	17	24
Roadway collision with other vehicle	11	7	10
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	7	5	7
Roadway noncollision incident	10	4	6
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	3	5	7
Nonroadway noncollision incident	3	5	7
Fires and explosions	--	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	9	12	17
Falls to lower level	8	10	14
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	--	1	1
Fall through surface or existing opening	1	1	1
Other fall to lower level	5	8	11
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	4	7	10
Exposure to electricity	2	2	3
Exposure to other harmful substances	--	4	6
Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.	--	1	1
Contact with objects and equipment	19	12	17
Struck by object or equipment	16	9	13
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	4	3	4
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	10	6	9
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	2	1	1
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. 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, Kentucky, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	92	70	100
Private industry	83	65	93
Natural resources and mining	18	20	29
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	16	18	26
Crop production	3	8	11
Animal production and aquaculture	7	5	7
Forestry and logging	5	5	7
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (2)	2	2	3
Construction	9	11	16
Construction	9	11	16
Construction of buildings	1	3	4
Heavy and civil engineering construction	2	2	3
Specialty trade contractors	6	6	9
Manufacturing	6	4	6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26	16	23
Utilities	1	2	3
Wholesale trade	5	4	6
Transportation and warehousing	17	10	14
Truck transportation	11	9	13
General freight trucking	9	6	9
Specialized freight trucking	--	3	4
Information	3	--	--
Financial activities	1	--	--
Professional and business services	7	5	7
Professional and technical services	1	1	1
Administrative and waste services	5	4	6
Administrative and support services	4	4	6
Educational and health services	4	3	4
Health care and social assistance	3	3	4
Ambulatory health care services	--	2	3
Nursing and residential care facilities	1	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	--	--	--
Other services, except public administration	7	--	--
Government (3)	9	5	7
Federal government	3	1	1
State government	3	--	--
Local government	3	4	6
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, Kentucky, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	92	70	100
Management occupations	13	9	13
Other management occupations	11	9	13
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	9	9	13
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	1	1	1
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	--	--
Legal occupations	--	--	--
Education, training, and library occupations	--	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	1	1
Healthcare support occupations	3	--	--
Protective service occupations	1	2	3
Law enforcement workers	--	2	3
Food preparation and serving related occupations	1	--	--
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	6	4	6
Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	1	1	1
Building cleaning and pest control workers	--	1	1
Grounds maintenance workers	3	2	3
Personal care and service occupations	--	1	1
Sales and related occupations	3	--	--
Office and administrative support occupations	1	5	7
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	--	4	6
Postal service workers	--	1	1
Stock clerks and order fillers	--	3	4
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	8	9	13
Agricultural workers	3	4	6
Forest, conservation, and logging workers	5	5	7
Construction and extraction occupations	11	15	21
Construction trades workers	7	12	17
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	10	3	4
Production occupations	3	--	--
Transportation and material moving occupations	29	16	23
Motor vehicle operators	23	12	17
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	21	12	17
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	18	10	14
Material moving workers	4	4	6
Military specific occupations (2)	--	--	--
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, Kentucky, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	92	70	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	69	50	71
Self-employed (2)	23	20	29
Gender
Men	85	63	90
Women	7	7	10
Age (3)
25 to 34 years	14	11	16
35 to 44 years	17	13	19
45 to 54 years	18	12	17
55 to 64 years	24	13	19
65 years and over	11	20	29
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	82	61	87
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	3	5	7
Hispanic or Latino	7	--	--
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.