News Release Information
23-326-ATL
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Fatal Occupational Injuries in Alabama — 2021
Fatal work injuries totaled 111 in 2021 for Alabama, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Alabama was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 155 in 1996 to a low of 70 in 2015.
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 Alabama, transportation incidents resulted in 42 fatal work injuries and accounted for 38 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 43 over the year.
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent fatal work event with 22 fatalities, followed by falls, slips, and trips with 20 fatalities. Worker deaths from violence and other injuries by persons or animals were up from 15 over the year, while worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips were up from 7.
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 transportation and warehousing industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Alabama with 25, up from 18 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 21 of the 25 fatalities in the industry. The truck transportation subsector accounted for 16 of the 25 fatal workplace injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.
The private construction industry sector had 22 fatal workplace injuries, up from 19 in the previous year. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 13, or 59 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.
Occupation
The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 42. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 22 of the 42 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 23. Construction trades workers suffered 17 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.
Additional highlights
Men accounted for 96 percent of the work-related fatalities in Alabama, compared to the national rate of 91 percent. (See table 4.) Contact with objects and equipment made up 16 percent of the fatalities for men in Alabama.
White non-Hispanics accounted for 70 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 60 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2021, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
Of the 111 fatal work injuries in Alabama, 94 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Transportation incidents accounted for 40 of the 104 fatalities among wage and salary 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 Alabama Department of Labor 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, Alabama, 2020–21
| Event or exposure |
2020 |
2021 |
| Number |
Number |
Percent |
|
Total
|
85 |
111 |
100 |
|
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals
|
15 |
22 |
20 |
|
Intentional injury by person
|
-- |
21 |
19 |
|
Transportation incidents
|
43 |
42 |
38 |
|
Aircraft incidents
|
-- |
3 |
3 |
|
Rail vehicle incidents
|
-- |
4 |
4 |
|
Pedestrian vehicular incident
|
5 |
9 |
8 |
|
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle
|
29 |
25 |
23 |
|
Roadway collision with other vehicle
|
15 |
9 |
8 |
|
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle
|
11 |
12 |
11 |
|
Roadway noncollision incident
|
3 |
4 |
4 |
|
Fires and explosions
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Falls, slips, trips
|
7 |
20 |
18 |
|
Falls to lower level
|
7 |
18 |
16 |
|
Exposure to harmful substances or environments
|
-- |
10 |
9 |
|
Exposure to electricity
|
-- |
5 |
5 |
|
Exposure to other harmful substances
|
-- |
4 |
4 |
|
Contact with objects and equipment
|
17 |
17 |
15 |
|
Struck by object or equipment
|
11 |
10 |
9 |
|
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle
|
5 |
6 |
5 |
|
Overexertion and bodily reaction
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
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, Alabama, 2020–21
| Industry |
2020 |
2021 |
| Number |
Number |
Percent |
|
Total
|
85 |
111 |
100 |
|
Private industry
|
73 |
100 |
90 |
|
Goods producing
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Natural resources and mining
|
7 |
4 |
4 |
|
Construction
|
19 |
22 |
20 |
|
Construction
|
19 |
22 |
20 |
|
Heavy and civil engineering construction
|
-- |
4 |
4 |
|
Specialty trade contractors
|
10 |
13 |
12 |
|
Manufacturing
|
7 |
17 |
15 |
|
Service providing
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Trade, transportation, and utilities
|
25 |
-- |
-- |
|
Utilities
|
1 |
4 |
4 |
|
Wholesale trade
|
3 |
6 |
5 |
|
Transportation and warehousing
|
18 |
25 |
23 |
|
Truck transportation
|
14 |
16 |
14 |
|
Support activities for transportation
|
-- |
6 |
5 |
|
Information
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Financial activities
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Professional and business services
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services
|
6 |
7 |
6 |
|
Educational and health services
|
3 |
-- |
-- |
|
Leisure and hospitality
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Accommodation and food services
|
-- |
3 |
3 |
|
Other services, except public administration
|
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
Government
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Federal government
|
6 |
1 |
1 |
|
State government
|
-- |
2 |
2 |
|
Local government
|
5 |
7 |
6 |
|
|
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, Alabama, 2020–21
| Occupation |
2020 |
2021 |
| Number |
Number |
Percent |
|
Total
|
85 |
111 |
100 |
|
Management occupations
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
|
Business and financial operations occupations
|
1 |
-- |
-- |
|
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
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Healthcare support occupations
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Protective service occupations
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Food preparation and serving related occupations
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations
|
5 |
3 |
3 |
|
Personal care and service occupations
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Sales and related occupations
|
-- |
1 |
1 |
|
Office and administrative support occupations
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations
|
3 |
-- |
-- |
|
Construction and extraction occupations
|
12 |
23 |
21 |
|
Construction trades workers
|
-- |
17 |
15 |
|
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations
|
7 |
14 |
13 |
|
Production occupations
|
3 |
9 |
8 |
|
Transportation and material moving occupations
|
32 |
42 |
38 |
|
Motor vehicle operators
|
26 |
28 |
25 |
|
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers
|
26 |
28 |
25 |
|
Driver/sales workers
|
-- |
3 |
3 |
|
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
|
23 |
22 |
20 |
|
Light truck drivers
|
-- |
3 |
3 |
|
Material moving workers
|
4 |
9 |
8 |
|
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, Alabama, 2020–21
| Worker characteristics |
2020 |
2021 |
| Number |
Number |
Percent |
|
Total
|
85 |
111 |
100 |
|
Employee status
|
|
|
Wage and salary workers
|
76 |
104 |
94 |
|
Self-employed
|
9 |
7 |
6 |
|
Gender
|
|
|
Men
|
76 |
107 |
96 |
|
Women
|
9 |
4 |
4 |
|
Age
|
|
|
25 to 34 years
|
15 |
29 |
26 |
|
35 to 44 years
|
19 |
23 |
21 |
|
45 to 54 years
|
20 |
15 |
14 |
|
55 to 64 years
|
21 |
25 |
23 |
|
65 years and over
|
4 |
14 |
13 |
|
Race or ethnic origin
|
|
|
White, non-Hispanic
|
53 |
78 |
70 |
|
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic
|
22 |
23 |
21 |
|
Hispanic or Latino
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
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.
|
United States Department of Labor
