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News Release Information

19-460-SAN
Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Fatal Work Injuries in Oregon – 2017

Fatal work injuries totaled 60 in 2017 for Oregon, 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 Oregon was lower than the 72 fatalities in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 88 in 1992 to a low of 43 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 in 2016, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Oregon, transportation incidents resulted in 29 fatal work injuries, and contact with objects and equipment accounted for 13 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 70 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents was little changed over the year, while work related fatalities from contact with objects and equipment fell by four.

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 industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Oregon with 16, compared to 27 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in the sector with six worker deaths. Five of those fatally injured in this sector worked in logging.

The private transportation and warehousing sector had 13 workplace fatalities in 2017. General freight trucking accounted for six fatalities in this industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 23. (See table 3.) Fifteen of these fatalities were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.

Additional highlights:
  • Men accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in Oregon, the same as the national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 46 percent of the fatalities for men in Oregon.
  • 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 25-54 years old accounted for 55 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, equal to the national rate.
  • Of the 72 fatally-injured workers in Oregon, 78 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary 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 2016 national data, over 23,300 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 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.

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, Oregon, 2016–17
Event or exposure (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7260100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

10610

Intentional injury by person

947

Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)

612

Shooting by other person--intentional

512

Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)

335

Transportation incidents

302948

Aircraft incidents

112

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

191830

Roadway collision with other vehicle

131017

Roadway collision--moving in same direction

--35

Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming

958

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

--47

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

--35

Roadway noncollision incident

647

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

358

Falls, slips, trips

6610

Falls to lower level

535

Other fall to lower level

435

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

347

Contact with objects and equipment

171322

Struck by object or equipment

13915

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

447

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, Oregon, 2016–17
Industry (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7260100

Private industry

665998

Natural resources and mining

271627

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

271627

Construction

9813

Construction

9813

Specialty trade contractors

535

Manufacturing

--35

Manufacturing

--35

Trade, transportation, and utilities

172033

Retail trade

535

Nonstore retailers

--12

Direct selling establishments

--12

Transportation and warehousing

121322

Truck transportation

10813

General freight trucking

--610

General freight trucking, long-distance

--58

Professional and business services

4610

Management of companies and enterprises

--12

Management of companies and enterprises

--12

Management of companies and enterprises

--12

Management of companies and enterprises

--12

Administrative and waste services

358

Administrative and support services

347

Services to buildings and dwellings

112

Landscaping services

112

Leisure and hospitality

--35

Accommodation and food services

------

Food services and drinking places

------

Government (2)

612

Local government

--12

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, Oregon, 2016–17
Occupation (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7260100

Management occupations

358

Other management occupations

--58

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

--47

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

--47

Food preparation and serving related occupations

1----

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

1----

Grounds maintenance workers

1----

Grounds maintenance workers

1----

Construction and extraction occupations

9813

Construction trades workers

4712

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

--58

Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

--35

Transportation and material moving occupations

172338

Air transportation workers

112

Aircraft pilots and flight engineers

112

Commercial pilots

112

Motor vehicle operators

151932

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

131932

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

131525

Footnotes:
(1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010.

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, Oregon, 2016–17
Worker characteristics20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7260100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

584778

Self-employed (2)

141322

Gender

Men

635693

Women

947

Age (3)

20 to 24 years

--12

25 to 54 years

111118

35 to 44 years

81220

45 to 54 years

201017

55 to 64 years

201728

65 years and over

9915

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White (non-Hispanic)

565287

Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)

------

Hispanic or Latino

1258

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2019