Fatal Work Injuries In Utah Decrease in 2015

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Labor Commission in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the 2015 fatal occupational injury data for Utah which was obtained through the annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) conducted by the Utah Occupational Safety and Health (UOSH) Division, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A total count of 42 fatal workplace injuries were recorded in 2015. This is a decrease from the final count of 54 in 2014.

Highlights:

• Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal work-related event and accounted for 21 of the 42 fatal occupational injuries in Utah in 2015. More than half of the transportation incidents (16) involved motorized land vehicles.
• Falls, slips and trips increased to eight fatal occupational injuries, up from three in 2014. Of these, four were in the goods producing industry. Fatal work-related falls, slips and trips increased 37 percent since 2014.
• Men suffered 40 injuries, or 95 percent of the fatal work injuries, in Utah in 2015—an increase from 89 percent in 2014.
• Among the age groups, those 45-54 years old recorded the largest number of fatal occupational injuries (10 out of 42 fatalities). The number of workplace fatalities for this group decreased in 2015 (14 out of 54 fatalities in 2014).
• White non-Hispanic workers accounted for 88 percent of those who died from workplace injuries in 2015. This up from 78 percent in 2014
• Of the 42 people fatally injured at work in Utah in 2015, 35 were wage and salary workers, while seven were self-employed.

The 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 various state, federal, and independent data sources to identify and verify work-related fatalities. The CFOI program compiles the most complete, verifiable count of fatal occupational injuries in the United States.

p>For more information, visit the Federal BLS website at https://www.bls.gov/iif/, or the Utah Labor Commission BLS website at http://laborcommission.utah.gov/divisions/UOSH/bls.html. For Specific questions contact Edward Denning at (801) 530-6926, edenning@utah.gov, or Joy Lawrence at (801) 530-6823, joylawrence@utah.gov at the Utah Labor Commission, Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division, Bureau of Labor Statistics.