There were 5,486 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2022, a 5.7-percent increase from 5,190 in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The fatal work injury rate was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, up from 3.6 per 100,000 FTE in 2021. These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
Key findings
- Fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased 11.6 percent to 849 in 2022, compared to 761 in 2021. Homicides accounted for 61.7 percent of these fatalities, with 524 deaths, an 8.9-percent increase from 2021.
- Unintentional overdoses increased 13.1 percent to a series high of 525 fatalities in 2022, up from 464 in 2021, continuing a trend of annual increases since 2012.
- Workers in transportation and material moving occupations experienced 1,620 fatal work injuries in 2022 and represented the occupational group with the most fatalities. The next highest was construction and extraction workers with 1,056 fatalities, an 11.0-percent increase from 2021.
- Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event accounting for 37.7 percent of all occupational fatalities. There were 2,066 fatal injuries from transportation incidents in 2022, a 4.2- percent increase from 1,982 in 2021.
Worker characteristics
- The fatal injury rate for Black or African American workers and for Hispanic or Latino workers increased from 2021 to 2022 with rates up from 4.0 to 4.2 and 4.5 to 4.6 per 100,000 FTE workers, respectively. The rates for these groups were both higher than the all-worker rate of 3.7.
- Transportation incidents were the highest cause of fatalities within both groups, with 278 for Black or African American workers and 439 for Hispanic or Latino workers.
- The second highest cause of fatalities to Black or African American workers was injuries due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals (199), while for Hispanic or Latino workers it was falls, slips, or trips (286).
- Foreign-born Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 63.5 percent (792) of total Hispanic or Latino worker fatalities (1,248). Fatalities in the construction industry accounted for 316 of the 792 foreign- born Hispanic or Latino worker deaths in 2022.
- Black or African American fatalities accounted for 13.4 percent (734) of all fatalities in 2022 but represented 33.4 percent (175) of fatalities from homicides.
- Similarly, women made up 8.1 percent (445) of all workplace fatalities but accounted for 15.3 percent (80) of homicides in 2022.
- Workers in the 55 to 64 age group continued to have the highest number of fatalities in 2022 with 1,175 (21.4 percent of total fatalities), up from 1,140 in 2021. Transportation incidents were the highest cause of fatalities for this age group (455), followed by falls, slips, and trips (251).Fatal event or exposure.
Fatal event or exposure
- Despite consecutive increases in 2021 and 2022, transportation incidents were still down 2.6 percent
from pre-pandemic levels in 2019 when there were 2,122 fatalities.
- Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles increased 9.3 percent between 2021 and 2022,
leading to a series high of 1,369 fatalities. Pedestrian vehicular incidents were down 3.6 percent in 2022
with 325 fatalities, which is the lowest number of fatalities since 2018.
- Suicides increased 13.1 percent to 267 fatalities in 2022. This followed consecutive decreases in both
2020 and 2021.
- Exposure to harmful substances or environments increased 5.1 percent in 2022 and led to 839 worker
fatalities. This increase was largely due to the increase in unintentional overdoses which accounted for
over 60 percent of fatalities in this category.
- Fatalities due to exposure to temperature extremes increased 18.6 percent in 2022, rising to 51 from 43 in 2021. Fatalities specifically due to environmental heat were 43 in 2022, up from 36 in 2021.
- Almost a quarter (24.6 percent) of fatalities due to homicides occurred while a worker was tending a
retail establishment or waiting on customers.
- Fatalities due to contact with objects and equipment increased 4.7 percent from 705 fatalities in 2021 to
738 in 2022. This is the highest count for this event category since 2018. Machinery was the source of
199 fatalities within this category.
- Work-related fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips increased 1.8 percent in 2022, resulting in 865 fatalities, up from 850 in 2021. Most fatalities in this category (80.9 percent) were due to falls to lower levels, which had 700 fatalities in 2022. This was a 2.9-percent increase from 680 fatalities in 2021.
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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne, NJ, is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over five decades, the Law Offices of Jon Gelman 1.973.696.7900
jon@gelmans.com has represented injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational illnesses and diseases.
Blog: Workers' Compensation
LinkedIn: JonGelman
LinkedIn Group: Injured Workers Law & Advocacy Group
Author: "Workers' Compensation Law" West-Thomson-Reuters
Mastodon:@gelman@mstdn.social
Recommended Citation: Gelman, Jon L., NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN 2022, www.gelmans.com (12/19/2023), https://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/2023/12/national-census-of-fatal-occupational.html
© 2023 Jon L Gelman. All rights reserved.
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