DOL Saw Fewer Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2012

September 9, 2013- Good news on the workplace fatality front.

This past August the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released preliminary results from their National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) showing that 4,383 workers died from work-related injuries in 2012, 310 fewer than in 2011.

The 2012 rate of fatal work injury was 3.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) U.S. workers, down from 3.5 per 100,000 FTE U.S. workers in 2011.

Key preliminary findings of the 2012 CFOI include:

-Although fatal construction injuries are down 37 percent since 2006, they increased 5 percent in 2012.

-While fatal work injuries for other groups declined, for workers under 16 years of age fatal work injuries nearly doubled, rising from 10 in 2011 to 19 in 2012 — the highest since 2005. (By contrast, fatalities for workers over 55 declined for the second consecutive year.)

-Violence accounted for about 17 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2012, although work-related suicides declined 10 percent from 2011 figures.

-The oil and gas extraction industries saw fatal work injuries rise 23 percent to 138 in 2012, a new high.

-Two out of every five fatal work injuries in 2012 were transportation-related.

Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement in response to the preliminary report:

"Workers in this country have the right to return home safe and healthy at the end of a work day. Despite that right, poor safety conditions cause thousands of people each year to lose their lives at work.

"I am greatly encouraged by the reduction in workplace fatalities, even in a growing economy. It is a testament to the hard work of employers, unions, health and safety professionals and the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Mine Safety and Health Administration. Through collaborative education and outreach efforts, and effective law enforcement, these numbers indicate that we are absolutely moving in the right direction.

"But to me these aren't just numbers and data — they are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, who will never come home again.

"We can and must do better. Job gains in oil and gas and construction have come with more fatalities, and that is unacceptable. That's why OSHA has undertaken a number of outreach and educational initiatives, including a campaign to prevent falls in construction and the National Voluntary Stand Down of U.S. Onshore Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, co-sponsored by oil and gas industry employers and planned for Nov. 14. Employers must take job hazards seriously and live up to their legal and moral obligation to send their workers home safe every single day. The Labor Department is committed to preventing these needless deaths, and we will continue to engage with employers to make sure that these fatality numbers go down further.

"No worker should lose their life for a paycheck."

Read the full BLS preliminary news release here . Read the statement by Secretary Labor Perez here.

Carnow Conibear and Associates is a demonstrated leader in the occupational and environmental health professions since 1975. To find out more, click here or call us at (800) 860-4486.