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News Release Information

20-259-ATL
Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Fatal Occupational Injuries in Alabama – 2018

Fatal work injuries totaled 89 in 2018 for Alabama, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Alabama was up from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 155 in 1996 to a low of 70 in 2015. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,250 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2018, up from the 5,147 fatal injuries in 2017, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Alabama, transportation incidents resulted in 34 fatal work injuries, and falls, slips, and trips accounted for 18 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 58 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were similar over the year and worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips were up from 13.

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 17 fatalities, up from 5 in the prior year. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in nine work-related deaths compared to seven in 2017.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2018, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by falls, slips, and trips (15 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (15 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry had the highest number of fatalities in Alabama with 22, up from 18 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 9 of the 22 fatalities in the industry. The specialty trade contractors sector accounted for 11 of the 22 workplace fatalities in the construction industry.

The private transportation and warehousing industry had 16 workplace fatalities, down from 19 in the previous year. The general freight trucking sector accounted for eight, or half of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 29. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 17 of the 29 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second highest number of workplace fatalities with 23. Construction trades workers suffered 19 of the work-related deaths with the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in Alabama, similar to the 92-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 41 percent of the fatalities for men in Alabama.

  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 64 percent of those who died from a workplace injury, similar to the 65-percent national share.

  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 63 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2018, compared to 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

  • Of the 89 fatal work injuries in Alabama, 84 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents; violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the most frequent fatal event for self-employed workers.


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 2018 national data, over 24,800 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.

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 Alabama Department of Labor 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, Alabama, 2017–18
Event or exposure (1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

8389100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

51719

Intentional injury by person

41618

Intentional injury by other person

31213

Shooting by other person--intentional

2910

Self-inflicted injury--intentional

--44

Transportation incidents

343438

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

242225

Roadway collision with other vehicle

967

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

121112

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

121112

Roadway noncollision incident

356

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

--56

Fires and explosions

--33

Falls, slips, trips

131820

Falls to lower level

111618

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

7910

Exposure to other harmful substances

467

Contact with objects and equipment

2178

Struck by object or equipment

1267

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, Alabama, 2017–18
Industry (1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

8389100

Private industry

788393

Goods producing

334045

Natural resources and mining

778

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

744

Mining (2)

--33

Construction

182225

Construction

182225

Construction of buildings

389

Specialty trade contractors

111112

Manufacturing

81112

Service providing

454348

Trade, transportation, and utilities

262831

Wholesale trade

356

Retail trade

--78

Transportation and warehousing

191618

Truck transportation

161213

General freight trucking

1289

Specialized freight trucking

444

Information

------

Financial activities

------

Professional and business services

1078

Educational and health services

--11

Health care and social assistance

111

Leisure and hospitality

--56

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

--11

Accommodation and food services

--44

Other services, except public administration

--22

Government (3)

567

Federal government

1----

State government

1----

Local government

356

Footnotes:
(1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012.
(2) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (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, Alabama, 2017–18
Occupation (1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

8389100

Management occupations

--67

Business and financial operations occupations

------

Computer and mathematical occupations

------

Architecture and engineering occupations

2----

Life, physical, and social science occupations

------

Community and social services occupations

------

Legal occupations

------

Education, training, and library occupations

------

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

------

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

------

Healthcare support occupations

------

Protective service occupations

522

Law enforcement workers

--22

Police officers

--22

Food preparation and serving related occupations

------

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

378

Personal care and service occupations

111

Entertainment attendants and related workers

--11

Sales and related occupations

--67

Supervisors of sales workers

--44

Retail sales workers

--22

Office and administrative support occupations

------

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

4----

Construction and extraction occupations

182326

Supervisors of construction and extraction workers

133

Construction trades workers

151921

Carpenters

--33

Construction laborers

5910

Electricians

344

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

1278

Production occupations

544

Transportation and material moving occupations

242933

Motor vehicle operators

202022

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

201820

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

191719

Material moving workers

356

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: 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, Alabama, 2017–18
Worker characteristics20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

8389100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

817584

Self-employed (2)

--1416

Gender

Men

808393

Women

367

Age (3)

20 to 24 years

456

25 to 34 years

151820

35 to 44 years

162022

45 to 54 years

201820

55 to 64 years

201618

65 years and over

71112

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

545764

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

202427

Hispanic or Latino

844

Asian, non-Hispanic

--44

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 data for Hispanics and Latinos.

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, February 25, 2020