Fatal work injuries totaled 70 in 2015 for Washington, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Washington decreased by 18 from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 128 in 1996 to a low of 56 in 2013. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2015, a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries in 2014, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Washington, transportation incidents resulted in 29 fatal work injuries and falls, slips, or trips accounted for 21 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 71 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents rose by five over the year, and worker fatalities due to falls, slips, or trips increased by four.

Contact with objects and equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 10 fatalities, down by 11 from the prior year. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 7 work-related deaths, down from 15 in 2014.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2015, accounting for approximately 42 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event (17 percent), followed by contact with objects and equipment (15 percent).

Industry

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry had the largest number of fatalities in Washington with 16, down from 19 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Contact with objects and equipment was the most frequent fatal event in the sector with eight worker deaths, followed by transportation incidents with five fatalities. Six of the 16 fatally injured in this sector worked in fruit and tree nut farming.

The private construction sector had nine workplace fatalities, down by eight from the previous year. Specialty trade contractors accounted for two-thirds of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations and transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 13 each. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within the farming, fishing, and forestry group were crop, nursery, and greenhouse farmworkers and laborers with five. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 4 of the 13 fatalities among transportation and material workers

Additional highlights:

• Men accounted for 89 percent of the work-related fatalities in Washington, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 42 percent of the fatalities for men in Washington.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for 71 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 49 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2015, compared to 57 percent nationally.
• Of the 70 fatally-injured workers in Washington, 74 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 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 2015 data, over 21,400 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for CFOI, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of 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.

Acknowledgments. BLS 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, Washington, 2014–15

Event or exposure (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	88	70	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	15	7	10
Intentional injury by person	13	6	9
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	8	5	7
Shooting by other person--intentional	5	5	7
Transportation incidents	24	29	41
Aircraft incidents	--	4	6
Parachuting incident	--	1	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	6	6	9
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	3	3	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	3	4
Water vehicle incidents	--	1	1
Capsized or sinking water vehicle	--	1	1
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	9	12	17
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	5	7
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	3	5	7
Roadway noncollision incident	3	5	7
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	5	5	7
Nonroadway noncollision incident	3	4	6
Falls, slips, trips	17	21	30
Falls on same level	3	4	6
Falls to lower level	14	17	24
Other fall to lower level	13	15	21
Other fall to lower level less than 6 feet	--	3	4
Other fall to lower level 6 to 10 feet	--	3	4
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	9	3	4
Contact with objects and equipment	21	10	14
Struck by object or equipment	14	9	13
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	8	6	9
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, Washington, 2014–15

Industry (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	88	70	100
Private industry	83	63	90
Natural resources and mining	19	16	23
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	19	16	23
Crop production	4	7	10
Fruit and tree nut farming	--	6	9
Noncitrus fruit and tree nut farming	--	6	9
Apple orchards	--	4	6
Forestry and logging	9	6	9
Logging	9	5	7
Logging	9	5	7
Fishing, hunting and trapping	--	1	1
Fishing	--	1	1
Fishing	--	1	1
Finfish fishing	--	1	1
Construction	17	9	13
Construction	17	9	13
Specialty trade contractors	12	6	9
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	3	4	6
Manufacturing	4	6	9
Manufacturing	4	6	9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	22	15	21
Wholesale trade	--	4	6
Retail trade	9	4	6
Clothing and clothing accessories stores	--	1	1
Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores	--	1	1
Jewelry stores	--	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	10	7	10
Truck transportation	6	5	7
Specialized freight trucking	4	3	4
Couriers and messengers	--	1	1
Local messengers and local delivery	--	1	1
Local messengers and local delivery	--	1	1
Professional and business services	8	6	9
Administrative and waste services	8	5	7
Administrative and support services	8	5	7
Services to buildings and dwellings	5	5	7
Landscaping services	3	3	4
Carpet and upholstery cleaning services	--	1	1
Educational services	--	1	1
Educational services	--	1	1
Technical and trade schools	--	1	1
Technical and trade schools	--	1	1
Flight training	--	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	4	3	4
Other services, except public administration	--	4	6
Other services, except public administration	--	4	6
Government (2)	5	7	10
Federal government	--	6	9
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) 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, Washington, 2014–15

Occupation (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	88	70	100
Management occupations	6	5	7
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	6	4	6
Personal care and service occupations	4	--	--
Sales and related occupations	5	3	4
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	13	13	19
Agricultural workers	--	6	9
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	--	6	9
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	--	5	7
Fishing and hunting workers	--	1	1
Fishers and related fishing workers	--	1	1
Fishers and related fishing workers	--	1	1
Forest, conservation, and logging workers	8	6	9
Logging workers	8	6	9
Fallers	3	4	6
Construction and extraction occupations	14	9	13
Construction trades workers	11	7	10
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	8	6	9
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	7	3	4
Production occupations	3	4	6
Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers	--	1	1
Transportation and material moving occupations	18	13	19
Motor vehicle operators	11	8	11
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	11	6	9
Driver/sales workers	--	1	1
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	10	4	6
Military specific occupations (2)	--	3	4
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 worker characteristics, Washington, 2014–15

Worker characteristics	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	88	70	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	76	52	74
Self-employed (2)	12	18	26
Gender
Men	82	62	89
Women	6	8	11
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	4	4	6
25 to 34 years	15	14	20
35 to 44 years	12	5	7
45 to 54 years	19	15	21
55 to 64 years	23	20	29
65 years and over	12	12	17
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	71	50	71
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	8	14	20
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.