Missouri’s Fatal Workplace Injuries Decrease Slightly In 2007

Jefferson City, MO  (CompNewsNetwork) - A total of 155 fatal work injuries were recorded in Missouri in 2007, down approximately 7.2 percent from the revised 167 fatal work injuries reported for 2006, according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, conducted by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Research and Analysis Section in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor. A total of 5,488 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2007 – a slight decrease from the revised total of 5,840 fatalities in 2006. This figure represents the smallest annual preliminary total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program was first conducted in 1992. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries classifies industries using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and classifies occupations using the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC).

The construction sector (NAICS 23) had the most occupational fatalities in 2007 with 29 or 18.7 percent of the total fatal work injuries. The construction sector accounted for 39 or 23.4 percent of occupational fatalities in 2006. Specialty Trade Contractors (NAICS 238) accounted for 16 of the 29 fatalities in the construction sector in Missouri in 2007. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (NAICS 11) was the second-highest sector with 28 or 18.1 percent of the total occupational fatalities in 2007.

Transportation incidents, which include highways, roads, air, and water, were the leading event or exposure of fatal work injuries in Missouri in 2006, and again in 2007. Transportation incidents were the event or exposure in 73 or 47.1 percent of the 155 fatalities in 2007. The transportation and warehousing sector (NAICS 48-49) accounted for 21 or 28.8 percent of the 73 transportation incidents in 2007 in Missouri, followed by the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector (NAICS 11) with 15 or 20.5 percent.

Transportation and material-moving occupations (SOC 53) was the occupational group with the highest number of fatal work injuries in Missouri in 2007 with 38 or 24.5 percent of the 155 fatalities. The occupational group with the second-highest number of fatalities was management occupations (SOC 11) with 27 or 17.4 percent of the 155 fatalities in 2007. Construction and extraction occupations (SOC 47) was the occupational group with the highest number of fatalities in 2006, but ranked third in 2007 with 23 or 14.8 percent of the 155 fatalities.

Men were victims in 141 of the 155 fatal work injuries that occurred in Missouri in 2007. In 2006, men were victims in 154 of the 167 fatal work injuries. White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 126 of the fatalities in 2007 and 148 of the fatalities in 2006. Workers between the ages of 45 to 54 years of age accounted for 34 of the fatal work injuries in 2006. In 2007, workers between the ages of 45 to 54 years of age also accounted for the most fatal work injuries with 38, closely followed by workers 35 to 44 years of age, with 35 fatal injuries. One hundred nine fatalities occurred to wage and salary workers in 2007, and also in 2006.

The BLS, in conjunction with state agencies, developed the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program in 1992 to produce accurate, comprehensive, descriptive, timely, and accessible counts of fatal workplace injuries that occur during a given year. A fatality is counted in the state where the incident occurred, regardless of the state of employment, to alleviate duplicate reporting in the states.

The fatality census uses diverse sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries in an effort to compile counts that are as complete as possible. Source documents such as death certificates, workers' compensation reports, news accounts, and federal and state agency administrative records are cross-referenced to gather key information about each workplace fatality such as the particular occupation in which the fatality occurred, worker demographic, equipment or machinery involved, and circumstances of the event. Two or more independent source documents are used to verify the work relationship of each fatal work injury.

For more information, visit the Internet site www.dolir.mo.gov/lmi/oii.htm.

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