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News Release Information

19-191-ATL
Tuesday, March 05, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Fatal Occupational Injuries in Georgia – 2017

Fatal work injuries totaled 194 in 2017 for Georgia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Georgia was up from 171 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 249 in 1994 to a low of 101 in 2012. (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 Georgia, transportation incidents resulted in 96 fatal work injuries, up from 76 in 2016, and accounted for about half (49 percent) of all workplace fatalities. (See table 1.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent fatal event in Georgia with 30 fatalities, followed by falls, slips, or trips (27).

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 Georgia with 39, little changed from the previous year. (See table 2.) General freight trucking accounted for 18, or 46 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

The private construction sector had 34 workplace fatalities, similar to the count in the previous year. Twenty-two, or 65 percent, of those fatally injured in this industry worked in the specialty trade contractors subsector.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations and construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 67 and 33, respectively. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within the transportation and material moving group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (37). Construction laborers accounted for 12 of the 33 fatalities among construction and extraction workers.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 89 percent of the work-related fatalities in Georgia, compared to 93 percent nationwide. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 49 percent of the fatalities for men in Georgia.
  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 61 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
  • Workers 55-64 years old accounted for 26 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 22 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
  • Of the 194 fatally-injured workers in Georgia, 81 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both groups of 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 the Georgia 2017 data, 921 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 Georgia 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, Georgia, 2016–17
Event or exposure (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

171194100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

373015

Intentional injury by person

372714

Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)

311910

Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)

584

Injury by person--unintentional or intent unknown

--21

Transportation incidents

769649

Aircraft incidents

563

Rail vehicle incidents

311

Pedestrian vehicular incident

9147

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

557036

Roadway collision with other vehicle

264724

Roadway collision--moving in same direction

6168

Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming

8179

Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly

7116

Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway

221

Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle on side of roadway

311

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

19137

Vehicle struck object or animal in roadway

--11

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

19116

Vehicle struck by falling or flying object--roadway

--11

Roadway noncollision incident

10105

Fires and explosions

2----

Falls, slips, trips

292714

Falls to lower level

262513

Fall through surface or existing opening

553

Other fall to lower level

181910

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

14137

Exposure to electricity

632

Exposure to other harmful substances

484

Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.

--11

Contact with objects and equipment

132513

Struck by object or equipment

8168

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

163

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, Georgia, 2016–17
Industry (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

171194100

Private industry

15116987

Natural resources and mining

8158

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

7147

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (2)

111

Construction

353418

Construction

353418

Construction of buildings

495

Heavy and civil engineering construction

532

Specialty trade contractors

262211

Manufacturing

12147

Trade, transportation, and utilities

555729

Wholesale trade

574

Retail trade

11116

Transportation and warehousing

373920

Air transportation

221

Truck transportation

212513

General freight trucking

11189

General freight trucking, local

--53

General freight trucking, long-distance

8137

Specialized freight trucking

1074

Transit and ground passenger transportation

632

Support activities for transportation

442

Information

142

Financial activities

--63

Real estate and rental and leasing

--42

Professional and business services

162111

Professional and technical services

--63

Administrative and waste services

14158

Administrative and support services

12126

Services to buildings and dwellings

995

Educational and health services

332

Educational services

321

Health care and social assistance

--11

Leisure and hospitality

1195

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

--11

Accommodation and food services

1184

Other services, except public administration

863

Government (3)

202513

Federal government

695

State government

232

Local government

12137

Footnotes:
(1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012.
(2) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining (Sector 21) in the North American Industry Classification System, 2012, including establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in Oil and Gas Extraction.
(3) 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, Georgia, 2016–17
Occupation (1)20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

171194100

Management occupations

695

Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers

--11

Other management occupations

674

Business and financial operations occupations

------

Computer and mathematical occupations

------

Architecture and engineering occupations

--32

Life, physical, and social science occupations

------

Community and social service occupations

------

Legal occupations

1----

Education, training, and library occupations

111

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

--32

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

--21

Healthcare support occupations

------

Protective service occupations

13137

Supervisors of protective service workers

421

Fire fighting and prevention workers

--21

Law enforcement workers

674

Food preparation and serving related occupations

--53

Supervisors of food preparation and serving workers

--32

Cooks and food preparation workers

121

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

15116

Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers

111

Building cleaning and pest control workers

442

Grounds maintenance workers

1063

Personal care and service occupations

--11

Sales and related occupations

10116

Supervisors of sales workers

442

Retail sales workers

453

Office and administrative support occupations

842

Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers

632

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

--42

Agricultural workers

--42

Construction and extraction occupations

323317

Supervisors of construction and extraction workers

--42

Construction trades workers

302412

Carpenters

511

Construction laborers

12126

Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

--32

Roofers

411

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

17116

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers

732

Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

1084

Production occupations

584

Transportation and material moving occupations

556735

Air transportation workers

432

Motor vehicle operators

435227

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

364624

Driver/sales workers

553

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

293719

Light truck or delivery services drivers

--42

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

442

Material moving workers

6105

Military specific occupations (2)

153

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, Georgia, 2016–17
Worker characteristics20162017
NumberNumberPercent

Total

171194100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

13415881

Self-employed (2)

373619

Gender

Men

16117389

Women

102111

Age (3)

18 to 19 years

221

20 to 24 years

8147

25 to 34 years

313015

35 to 44 years

274121

45 to 54 years

523317

55 to 64 years

415026

65 years and over

102312

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

9511861

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

504322

Hispanic or Latino

162412

Asian, non-Hispanic

1095

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 05, 2019