Fatal work injuries totaled 83 in 2017 for Alabama, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Alabama declined by 17 from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 155 in 1996 to a low of 70 in 2015. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,147 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2017, down slightly from the 5,190 fatal injuries reported in 2016, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Alabama, transportation incidents resulted in 34 fatal work injuries, down from the 61 fatalities in the previous year. Contact with objects and equipment accounted for 21 fatalities, up from 16 in the previous year. These two major categories accounted for 66 percent of all workplace fatalities in Alabama. (See table 1.) Falls, slips, or trips was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 13 fatalities.

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 transportation and warehousing sector had the largest number of fatalities in Alabama with 19, down from 25 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in the sector with 14 worker deaths. General freight trucking accounted for 12, or 63 percent of the fatal injuries in this industry sector.

The private construction sector had 18 workplace fatalities, compared to 20 in the previous year. Eleven of those fatally injured in this sector worked in the specialty trade contractors industry subsector.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group and the construction and extraction occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 24 and 18, respectively. (See table 3.) The majority of fatalities within the transportation and material moving occupational group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (19). Construction trades workers accounted for 15 of the 18 fatalities among construction and extraction workers.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 96 percent of the work-related fatalities in Alabama, compared to 93 percent nationwide. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 41 percent of the fatalities for men in Alabama.
• White non-hispanics accounted for 65 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 45 years old and older accounted for 57 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, similar to the 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 83 fatally-injured workers in Alabama, 98 percent worked for wages and salaries. The most frequent fatal event for wages and salary workers was transportation incidents.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (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 2017 national data, over 23,400 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For Alabama 2017 data, 309 unique source documents were reviewed. 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 and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

 Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Alabama Department of Health for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also 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, Alabama, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	100	83	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	5	5	6
Intentional injury by person	5	4	5
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	5	3	4
Transportation incidents	61	34	41
Pedestrian vehicular incident	6	4	5
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	47	24	29
Roadway collision with other vehicle	21	9	11
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	3	4	5
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	--	1	1
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	18	12	14
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	16	12	14
Roadway noncollision incident	8	3	4
Falls, slips, trips	9	13	16
Falls to lower level	7	11	13
Other fall to lower level	5	9	11
Jumps to lower level	--	1	1
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	7	7	8
Exposure to other harmful substances	--	4	5
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose	--	3	4
Inhalation of harmful substance	--	1	1
Contact with objects and equipment	16	21	25
Struck by object or equipment	9	12	14
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	4	3	4
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	5	8	10
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	4	4	5
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	3	4	5
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, Alabama, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	100	83	100
Private industry	91	78	94
Natural resources and mining	11	7	8
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	11	7	8
Crop production	--	4	5
Construction	20	18	22
Construction	20	18	22
Construction of buildings	3	3	4
Heavy and civil engineering construction	10	3	4
Specialty trade contractors	7	11	13
Building equipment contractors	4	3	4
Other specialty trade contractors	--	4	5
Manufacturing	7	8	10
Trade, transportation, and utilities	33	26	31
Wholesale trade	3	3	4
Retail trade	4	--	--
Transportation and warehousing	25	19	23
Rail transportation	--	1	1
Truck transportation	20	16	19
General freight trucking	11	12	14
General freight trucking, long-distance	10	11	13
Specialized freight trucking	9	4	5
Information	--	--	--
Financial activities	1	--	--
Professional and business services	11	10	12
Administrative and waste services	9	8	10
Administrative and support services	8	7	8
Services to buildings and dwellings	6	4	5
Educational and health services	3	--	--
Health care and social assistance	3	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	--	--	--
Other services, except public administration	3	--	--
Government (2)	9	5	6
Federal government	--	1	1
State government	3	1	1
Local government	5	3	4
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, Alabama, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	100	83	100
Management occupations	1	--	--
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	2	2
Engineers	--	1	1
Drafters, engineering technicians, and mapping technicians	1	1	1
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	--	--
Legal occupations	--	--	--
Education, training, and library occupations	1	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	2	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	--	--
Protective service occupations	1	5	6
Supervisors of protective service workers	--	1	1
Other protective service workers	--	2	2
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	--	--
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	8	3	4
Personal care and service occupations	--	1	1
Other personal care and service workers	--	1	1
Childcare workers	--	1	1
Sales and related occupations	3	--	--
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	7	4	5
Agricultural workers	--	3	4
Forest, conservation, and logging workers	5	1	1
Construction and extraction occupations	16	18	22
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	4	1	1
Construction trades workers	12	15	18
Construction laborers	3	5	6
Electricians	--	3	4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	6	12	14
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	1	5	6
Automotive technicians and repairers	1	5	6
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	7	8
Line installers and repairers	1	1	1
Maintenance and repair workers, general	--	4	5
Production occupations	8	5	6
Metal workers and plastic workers	4	3	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	42	24	29
Motor vehicle operators	36	20	24
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	35	20	24
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	31	19	23
Material moving workers	5	3	4
Military specific occupations (2)	--	--	--
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (2) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.
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, Alabama, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	100	83	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	92	81	98
Self-employed (2)	8	--	--
Gender
Men	92	80	96
Women	8	3	4
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	3	4	5
25 to 34 years	16	15	18
35 to 44 years	18	16	19
45 to 54 years	29	20	24
55 to 64 years	23	20	24
65 years and over	10	7	8
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	62	54	65
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	32	20	24
Hispanic or Latino	5	8	10
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.