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News Release Information

23-332-ATL
Wednesday, February 22, 2023

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

Fatal Occupational Injuries in Tennessee — 2021

Fatal work injuries totaled 132 in 2021 for Tennessee, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Tennessee was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 179 in 1995 to a low of 95 in 2013.

Nationwide, a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2021, a 9-percent increase from 4,764 in 2020, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).


Fatal event or exposure

In Tennessee, transportation incidents resulted in 54 fatal work injuries and accounted for 41 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 57 over the year.

Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most frequent fatal event with 23 fatalities, followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals with 21 fatal injuries and exposure to harmful substances or environments with 20. 

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in 2021, accounting for 38 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by both exposure to harmful substances or environments and violence and other injuries by persons or animals (15 percent each) and contact with objects and equipment (14 percent).


Industry

The private construction industry sector had 21 fatalities, down from 38 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 11 of the 21 fatalities in the construction industry. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 18 of the 21 fatal workplace injuries in the construction industry.

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector also had 21 fatal workplace injuries in 2021, down from 30 in the prior year. The general freight trucking industry group accounted for 14, or 67 percent, of the fatal injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.

The administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry sector had 20 fatal workplace industries in 2021, up from 11 in the previous year. The services to buildings and dwellings industry group accounted for 55 percent of the fatal injuries for this industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 48. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 28 of the 48 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 21. Construction trades workers suffered 16 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights

Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities in Tennessee, compared to 91 percent nationwide. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 43 percent of the fatalities for men in Tennessee.

White non-Hispanics accounted for 65 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 60 percent of work-related deaths.

Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 64 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2021, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

Of the 132 fatal work injuries in Tennessee, 85 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers and for self-employed workers.


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, is a count of all fatalities resulting from workplace injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI uses a variety of 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 2021 national data, over 23,900 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the BLS Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm and the CFOI definitions at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/occupational-safety-and-health-definitions.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, some of which may be outside the scope of other agencies or regulatory coverage. Comparisons between CFOI counts and those released by other agencies should account for the different coverage requirements and definitions used by each agency. For more information on the scope of CFOI, see www.bls.gov/iif/overview/cfoi-scope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Latency Cases. Latent fatal occupational injury cases occur when the date of injury differs from the date of death. In some cases, the death occurs in a different year than the occupational injury and are known as cross-year latent cases. In 2021, there were 197 cases nationally where this occurred, and 174 of these latent cases occurred more than 30 days prior to the start of 2021. For more information on latent cases, see www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-10/latency-in-fatal-occupational-injuries.htm.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. CFOI reports fatal workplace injuries only. These may include fatal workplace injuries complicated by an illness such as COVID-19. Fatal workplace illnesses not precipitated by an injury are not in scope for CFOI. CFOI does not report any illness related information, including COVID-19. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-on-workplace-injuries-and-illnesses-compensation-and-occupational-requirements.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Tennessee, 2020–21
Event or exposure (1)20202021
NumberNumberPercent

Total

142132100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

292116

Intentional injury by person

292015

Intentional injury by other person

251612

Transportation incidents

575441

Aircraft incidents

--11

Rail vehicle incidents

--11

Pedestrian vehicular incident

1086

Pedestrian struck by vehicle on side of road

--43

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

444030

Roadway collision with other vehicle

232015

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

161310

Roadway noncollision incident

575

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

--43

Fires and explosions

------

Falls, slips, trips

202317

Falls on same level

--43

Falls to lower level

151914

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

202015

Exposure to electricity

943

Exposure to other harmful substances

11129

Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose

9129

Contact with objects and equipment

161411

Struck by object or equipment

9108

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

--32

Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material

--11

Overexertion and bodily reaction

------

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. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Tennessee, 2020–21
Industry (1)20202021
NumberNumberPercent

Total

142132100

Private industry (2)

13712292

Goods producing

------

Natural resources and mining

7108

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

775

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (3)

--32

Construction

382116

Construction

382116

Construction of buildings

532

Specialty trade contractors

281814

Manufacturing

12118

Service providing (4)

------

Trade, transportation, and utilities

503728

Wholesale trade

586

Retail trade

1586

Transportation and warehousing

302116

Truck transportation

241713

General freight trucking

131411

Information

------

Financial activities

------

Professional and business services

112116

Professional, scientific, and technical services

--11

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

112015

Administrative and support services

--129

Services to buildings and dwellings

--118

Educational and health services

132

Health care and social assistance

--32

Leisure and hospitality

------

Accommodation and food services

--65

Other services, except public administration

--97

Government (5)

------

Federal government

--11

State government

2----

Local government

1143

Footnotes:
(1) CFOI has used several versions of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) since 2003 to define industry. For complete information on the version of NAICS used in this year, see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts. Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts.
(2) Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts.
(3) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining (Sector 21) in the North American Industry Classification System, including establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction.
(4) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts.
(5) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Cases classified as foreign government and other government are included in all government counts, but not displayed separately.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Tennessee, 2020–21
Occupation (1)20202021
NumberNumberPercent

Total

142132100

Management occupations

--54

Business and financial operations occupations

--22

Computer and mathematical occupations

------

Architecture and engineering occupations

------

Life, physical, and social science occupations

------

Community and social service occupations

------

Legal occupations

------

Educational instruction and library occupations

------

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

--11

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

------

Healthcare support occupations

2----

Protective service occupations

575

Food preparation and serving related occupations

854

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

697

Grounds maintenance workers

--86

Personal care and service occupations

3----

Sales and related occupations

997

Office and administrative support occupations

254

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

432

Construction and extraction occupations

322116

Construction trades workers

221612

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

11118

Production occupations

943

Transportation and material moving occupations

474836

Motor vehicle operators

393527

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

383224

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

332821

Material moving workers

4108

Footnotes:
(1) CFOI has used several versions of the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system since 2003 to define occupation. For complete information on the version of SOC used in this year, see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htmhttps://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, Tennessee, 2020–21
Worker characteristics20202021
NumberNumberPercent

Total

142132100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

12311285

Self-employed (2)

192015

Gender

Men

12311990

Women

191310

Age (3)

16 to 17 years

111

20 to 24 years

1432

25 to 34 years

282821

35 to 44 years

322217

45 to 54 years

303527

55 to 64 years

222116

65 years and over

142015

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

968665

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

192620

Hispanic or Latino

231411

Asian, non-Hispanic

--65

Footnotes:
(1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. Cases where employment status is unknown are included in the counts of wage and salary workers.
(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 data for Hispanics and Latinos. Cases where ethnicity is unknown are included in counts of non-Hispanic workers.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2023