Fatal Work Injuries In Utah Increased In 2016

The Utah Labor Commission, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), has released the 2016 fatal occupational injury data for Utah. Data 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 44 fatal workplace injuries were recorded in 2016. This is an increase from the total count of 42 fatal workplace injuries in 2015.

Highlights:

• Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal work-related event and accounted for 20 of the 44 fatal occupational injuries in Utah in 2016. More than half of the transportation incidents (12) involved roadway motorized land vehicles.

• Fatal occupational injuries resulting from contact with other objects or equipment increased from seven in 2015 to ten in 2016. Of those ten, seven were in goods producing, including four in construction

• Fatal work-related falls, slips and trips incidents decreased from eight in 2015 to four in 2016, a total decrease of 50 percent.

• The percentage of men who were fatally injured at work decreased from 95 percent (40 of 42 fatalities) in 2015 to 91 percent (40 of 44 fatalities) in 2016. Transportation incidents accounted for 45 percent of the fatal work injuries that occurred to men in 2016.

• The largest number of worker fatalities in 2016 occurred in workers who were in the age group ranging from 45 to 54 years old which accounted for 13 of the 44 fatal work injuries, or 30 percent. This was an increase from 2015 where the percentage of worker fatalities within this same age group was 24 percent (10 of 42 fatalities).

• White non-Hispanic workers sustained the highest number of fatal work injuries in 2016 at 68 percent. This is a decrease from 2015 where 88 percent of this group sustained fatal work injuries. Hispanic and Latino workers experienced an increase of fatal work injuries from 10 percent in 2015 to 23 percent in 2016. The largest contributing factor to fatal work injuries of Hispanic and Latino workers was contact with objects and equipment which accounted for 60 percent of this group’s fatalities. Transportation incidents were the largest contributing factor for white non-Hispanic fatal work injuries which accounted for 53 percent of the fatalities.

• Of the 44 workers fatally injured at work in Utah in 2016, 34 were private sector wage and salary workers, six were government workers and four 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 United States 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 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, UOSH, BLS