An official website of the United States government
22-383-ATL
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Fatal work injuries totaled 142 in 2020 for Tennessee, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Tennessee was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 179 in 1995 to a low of 95 in 2013.
Nationwide, a total of 4,764 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2020, an 11-percent decrease from 5,333 in 2019, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The 4,764 fatal occupational injuries in 2020 represents the lowest annual number since 2013.
In Tennessee, transportation incidents resulted in 57 fatal work injuries, and violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 29 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 61 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were similar over the year, while worker fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals were up from 17.
Falls, slips, and trips and exposure to harmful substances or environments each resulted in 20 fatal work injuries in 2020, followed by contact with objects and equipment with 16 fatal work injuries.
Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2020, accounting for 37 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent).
The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Tennessee with 38, up from 28 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 12 of the 38 fatalities in the industry. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 28 of the 38 fatal workplace injuries in the construction industry.
The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had 30 fatal workplace injuries, up from 22 in the previous year. The truck transportation subsector accounted for 24, or 80 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.
OccupationThe transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 47. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 33 of the 47 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 32. Construction laborers suffered 10 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.
Additional highlightsMen accounted for 87 percent of the work-related fatalities in Tennessee, compared to 92 percent nationwide. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 41 percent of the fatalities for men in Tennessee.
White non-Hispanics accounted for 68 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 61 percent of work-related deaths.
Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 63 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2020, compared to 56 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
Of the 142 fatal work injuries in Tennessee, 87 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers and for self-employed workers.
CFOI reports fatal workplace injuries only. These may include fatal workplace injuries complicated by an illness such as COVID-19. Fatal workplace illnesses not precipitated by an injury are not in scope for CFOI. CFOI does not report any illness related information, including COVID-19. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-on-workplace-injuries-and-illnesses-compensation-and-occupational-requirements.htm.
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 2020 national data, over 21,600 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 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 Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
Event or exposure (1) | 2019 | 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|
Number | Number | Percent | |
Total | 124 | 142 | 100 |
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals | 17 | 29 | 20 |
Intentional injury by person | 13 | 29 | 20 |
Intentional injury by other person | 9 | 25 | 18 |
Transportation incidents | 58 | 57 | 40 |
Pedestrian vehicular incident | 10 | 10 | 7 |
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle | 37 | 44 | 31 |
Roadway collision with other vehicle | 23 | 23 | 16 |
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle | 12 | 16 | 11 |
Roadway noncollision incident | 2 | 5 | 4 |
Fires and explosions | -- | -- | -- |
Falls, slips, trips | 16 | 20 | 14 |
Falls to lower level | 14 | 15 | 11 |
Other fall to lower level | -- | 12 | 8 |
Exposure to harmful substances or environments | -- | 20 | 14 |
Exposure to electricity | -- | 9 | 6 |
Exposure to other harmful substances | -- | 11 | 8 |
Contact with objects and equipment | 18 | 16 | 11 |
Struck by object or equipment | 12 | 9 | 6 |
Overexertion and bodily reaction | -- | -- | -- |
Footnotes: | |||
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 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. |
Industry (1) | 2019 | 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|
Number | Number | Percent | |
Total | 124 | 142 | 100 |
Private industry (2) | 114 | 137 | 96 |
Goods producing | -- | -- | -- |
Natural resources and mining | 14 | 7 | 5 |
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 13 | 7 | 5 |
Construction | 28 | 38 | 27 |
Construction | 28 | 38 | 27 |
Construction of buildings | -- | 5 | 4 |
Heavy and civil engineering construction | 7 | 5 | 4 |
Specialty trade contractors | -- | 28 | 20 |
Manufacturing | -- | 12 | 8 |
Service providing (3) | -- | -- | -- |
Trade, transportation, and utilities | 33 | 50 | 35 |
Wholesale trade | 3 | 5 | 4 |
Retail trade | 8 | 15 | 11 |
Transportation and warehousing | 22 | 30 | 21 |
Truck transportation | 15 | 24 | 17 |
Information | -- | -- | -- |
Financial activities | -- | -- | -- |
Professional and business services | 14 | 11 | 8 |
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services | 13 | 11 | 8 |
Administrative and support services | 9 | 10 | 7 |
Educational and health services | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Health care and social assistance | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Leisure and hospitality | 4 | -- | -- |
Accommodation and food services | 4 | 7 | 5 |
Other services, except public administration | 5 | 8 | 6 |
Government (4) | 10 | 5 | 4 |
Federal government | -- | -- | -- |
State government | 2 | -- | -- |
Local government | 8 | 5 | 4 |
Footnotes: | |||
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 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. |
Occupation (1) | 2019 | 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|
Number | Number | Percent | |
Total | 124 | 142 | 100 |
Management occupations | 8 | -- | -- |
Business and financial operations occupations | -- | -- | -- |
Computer and mathematical occupations | -- | -- | -- |
Architecture and engineering occupations | -- | -- | -- |
Life, physical, and social science occupations | 1 | -- | -- |
Community and social service occupations | 1 | -- | -- |
Legal occupations | -- | -- | -- |
Educational instruction and library occupations | -- | -- | -- |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations | -- | -- | -- |
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations | -- | -- | -- |
Healthcare support occupations | -- | 2 | 1 |
Protective service occupations | 8 | 5 | 4 |
Food preparation and serving related occupations | -- | 8 | 6 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations | 6 | 6 | 4 |
Personal care and service occupations | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Sales and related occupations | 6 | 9 | 6 |
Office and administrative support occupations | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations | 6 | 4 | 3 |
Construction and extraction occupations | 31 | 32 | 23 |
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers | 4 | 5 | 4 |
Construction trades workers | 24 | 22 | 15 |
Construction laborers | 6 | 10 | 7 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations | 7 | 11 | 8 |
Production occupations | 7 | 9 | 6 |
Transportation and material moving occupations | 34 | 47 | 33 |
Motor vehicle operators | 26 | 39 | 27 |
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers | 25 | 38 | 27 |
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | -- | 33 | 23 |
Material moving workers | -- | 4 | 3 |
Footnotes: | |||
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 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. |
Worker characteristics | 2019 | 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|
Number | Number | Percent | |
Total | 124 | 142 | 100 |
Employee status | |||
Wage and salary workers (1) | 95 | 123 | 87 |
Self-employed (2) | 29 | 19 | 13 |
Gender | |||
Men | 117 | 123 | 87 |
Women | 7 | 19 | 13 |
Age (3) | |||
16 to 17 years | -- | 1 | 1 |
18 to 19 years | 1 | 1 | 1 |
20 to 24 years | 7 | 14 | 10 |
25 to 34 years | 23 | 28 | 20 |
35 to 44 years | 28 | 32 | 23 |
45 to 54 years | 23 | 30 | 21 |
55 to 64 years | 24 | 22 | 15 |
65 years and over | 18 | 14 | 10 |
Race or ethnic origin (4) | |||
White, non-Hispanic | 84 | 96 | 68 |
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic | 21 | 19 | 13 |
Hispanic or Latino | 16 | 23 | 16 |
Footnotes: | |||
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 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. |
Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2022