In April of this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released a summary of fatal injury statistics with data collected from 1992 to 2011. The goal of the fatal injury summary is to better understand fatal injury trends in the workplace.
The data shows annual fatal injuries ranged from a high of 6,632 in 1994 to a low of 4,551 in 2009, a difference of just over 30%. According to BLS, a total of 115,091 workers were killed in the United States from on the job injuries between 1992 and 2011.
The most common event leading to a work related fatality in both 1992 and 2011 was a roadway incident. Roadway incidents accounted for 19% of all work related fatalities in 1992 and 24% in 2011. While homicides fell as a percentage of all work related fatalities over the 20‑year span, decreasing from 17% of all work fatalities in 1992 to 10%. In 2011, falls to a lower level increased as a percentage of all work fatalities, increasing from 8% in 1992 to 12% in 2011. Contact with electricity had only a 1% decrease in work fatalities from 1992 to 2011.
The data are from the BLS Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities program.