Fatal Work Injuries In Utah Increase

SALT LAKE CITY – A preliminary total of 54 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2014, according to a study conducted by the Utah Labor Commission, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This is an increase from the final count of 37 in 2013.

Highlights:

• Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal work-related event and accounted for 22 of the 54 fatal occupational injuries in Utah in 2014. More than half of the transportation incidents (13) involved motorized land vehicles.
• Seven workers in Utah were fatally injured as a result of violence and other injuries by persons or animals. Three of these were workplace suicides, down from four in 2013. Workplace suicides accounted for 6 percent of total fatalities in 2014 compared to 14 percent in the previous year.
• Men suffered 48 injuries, or 89 percent, of the fatal work injuries in Utah in 2014—the same share as in 2013.
• Among the age groups, those 45-54 years old recorded the largest number of fatal occupational injuries (14 out of 54 injuries). Though the number of workplace fatalities for this group was the same in 2014 as in the prior year, they represented a smaller share of the total in 2014.
• Seventy-eight percent of those who died from a work injury in Utah were white non-Hispanic workers in 2014. This compared to 81 percent in 2013.
• Of the 54 persons fatally injured at work in Utah, 48 were wage and salary workers, while 6 were self-employed in 2014.

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 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.

For more information, visit the Federal BLS page or the Utah Labor Commission BLS page, or 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.