Fatal work injuries totaled 54 in 2010 for Nebraska, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that while the 2010 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Nebraska was down from the 57 recorded one year earlier. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 83 in 1994 and 2002 to a low of 36 in 2005. (See table 1 and chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,547 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2010, about the same as the final total of 4,551 fatal work injuries recorded in 2009, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2010 CFOI data will be released in spring 2012.

Highway incidents were the most frequent type of workplace fatality in Nebraska in 2010, accounting for 15 deaths. (See table 2.) Fatal highway incidents have ranged from a low of 9 in 1992, 1994, and 1997 to a high of 32 in 2002. Fatalities due to falls to a lower level totaled eight in 2010, a decline of four from the 2009 count. Four worker fatalities were the result of nonhighway incidents, down from eight incidents a year earlier.

In the United States, highway incidents were also the most frequent fatal workplace event, accounting for 21 percent of fatal work injuries. Nebraska’s share of on-the-job fatalities from this event was higher, 28 percent. Nationwide, homicides and falls to a lower level were the next most frequent type of event, each with 11 percent of work-related fatalities. In comparison, 7 percent of Nebraska’s work-related fatalities were the result of homicides and 15 percent were from falls to a lower level.

Additional key characteristics:

• Men accounted for 51, or 94 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the state. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail, made up two out of every five of these fatalities. (See table 3.)
• In Nebraska, 89 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics. Nationwide, this group accounted for 72 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 32, or 59 percent, of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2010. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities..
• Of the 54 occupational fatalities in Nebraska, 61 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. The leading cause of death for both groups was transportation incidents.
• The agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector had the largest number of fatalities, 18, followed by transportation and warehousing with 9. Transportation incidents accounted for seven of the worker deaths in both agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting and in transportation and warehousing.
• Management occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 19, the majority of which were farm or ranch operators (13). Workers in transportation and material moving occupations had the second highest fatality count at 17, followed by those in construction and extraction, at 7.

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available on the BLS Internet site at www.bls.gov/iif/. Further information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program, as well as other Bureau programs, is available on the Midwest Information Office web site at www.bls.gov/ro5/ or by contacting us at 312-353-1880 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.

Technical Note

Background of the program.  The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The program uses diverse State, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

For technical information about the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch9_a1.htm. The technical information and definitions for the CFOI Program are in Chapter 9, Part III of the BLS Handbook of Methods.

Federal/State agency coverage.  The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or State agencies or was outside the scope of 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.

Several federal and State agencies have jurisdiction over workplace safety and health. OSHA and affiliated agencies in States with approved safety programs cover the largest portion of the nation's workers. However, injuries and illnesses occurring in certain industries or activities, such as coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and highway, water, rail, and air transportation, are excluded from OSHA coverage because they are covered by other federal agencies, such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration and various agencies within the Department of Transportation.

Acknowledgments.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics appreciates the efforts of all federal, State, local, and private sector entities that submitted 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 Employment Standards Administration (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the Department of Energy; State vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; State departments of health, labor and industries, and workers' compensation agencies; State and local police departments; and State farm bureaus.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries in Nebraska by selected event groups, 1992-2010

Year	Total fatalities	Highway incidents		Falls to a lower level		Nonhighway incidents
		Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
1992	43	9	21	4	9	--	--
1993	78	19	24	--	--	7	9
1994	83	9	11	14	17	9	11
1995	54	10	19	8	15	6	11
1996	56	11	20	5	9	10	18
1997	46	9	20	5	11	8	17
1998	56	18	32	--	--	9	16
1999	66	17	26	4	6	7	11
2000	59	22	37	3	5	8	14
2001	57	26	46	5	9	4	7
2002	83	32	39	6	7	--	--
2003	51	20	39	--	--	6	12
2004	46	11	24	7	15	3	7
2005	36	10	28	--	--	6	17
2006	57	11	19	5	9	3	5
2007	63	16	25	6	10	5	8
2008	53	10	19	4	8	5	9
2009	57	17	30	12	21	8	14
2010	54	15	28	8	15	4	7
NOTE: Data for 2010 are preliminary. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

 

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Nebraska, 2009-2010

Event or exposure(1)	2009	2010
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	57	54	100
Transportation incidents	26	22	41
Highway	17	15	28
Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment	12	6	11
Moving in opposite directions, oncoming	6	--	--
Moving in intersection	5	--	--
Vehicle struck object on side of road	--	5	9
Noncollision	3	4	7
Jack-knifed or overturned-no collision	--	4	7
Nonhighway (farm, industrial premises)	8	4	7
Overturned	6	--	--
Assaults and violent acts	4	6	11
Homicides	--	4	7
Contact with objects and equipment	9	8	15
Struck by object or equipment	4	3	6
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	4	--	--
Caught in or crushed in collapsing materials	--	3	6
Falls	13	8	15
Fall to lower level	12	8	15
Fall from ladder	3	3	6
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	4	9	17
Contact with electric current	--	7	13
Footnotes: (1) Based on the 2007 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Manual. Includes other events and exposures, such as bodily reaction, in addtion to those shown separately.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. Data for 2010 are preliminary. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

 

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Nebraska, 2009-2010

Worker characteristics	2009	2010
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	57	54	100
Employee Status
Wage and salary workers(1)	36	33	61
Self-employed(2)	21	21	39
Gender
Men	49	51	94
Women	8	3	6
Age(3)
25 to 34 years	7	7	13
35 to 44 years	8	11	20
45 to 54 years	10	14	26
55 to 64 years	11	10	19
65 years and over	15	9	17
Race or Ethnic Origin(4)
White, non-Hispanic	53	48	89
Black, non-Hispanic	--	3	6
Hispanic or Latino	--	3	6
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) Because there may have been no incidents reported for some ages or because the data do not meet publication criteria, information is not available for all age groups. In addition, some fatalities may have had insufficient information with which to determine the age of the decedents. (4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. Data for 2009 are preliminary. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.