Fatal work injuries totaled 108 in 2020 for Wisconsin, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that Wisconsin's number of work-related fatalities was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 138 in 1993 to a low of 77 in 2008.

Nationwide, a total of 4,764 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2020, an 11-percent decrease from 5,333 in 2019, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The 4,764 fatal occupational injuries in 2020 represents the lowest annual number since 2013.

Fatal event or exposure

In Wisconsin, transportation incidents resulted in 29 fatal work injuries. Contact with objects and equipment accounted for 27 fatalities and violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 26 fatalities. These three major categories accounted for 76 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 41 over the year. Worker fatalities due to contacts with objects and equipment were up from 17 and fatalities from violence or other injuries by persons or animals were up from 15.

Falls, slips, or trips resulted in 13 work-related deaths compared to 23 in 2019.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2020, accounting for 37 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent).

Industry

The agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Wisconsin with 27, up from 25 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Contact with objects and equipment resulted in 12 of the 27 fatalities in the industry. The crop production subsector accounted for 13 of the 27 fatal workplace injuries in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry.

The private manufacturing industry sector had 21 fatal workplace injuries. Breweries accounted for six, or 29 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

The management occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 18. (See table 3.) Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for 15 of the 18 fatalities among management occupations. The production occupational group and transportation and material moving occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 17 each. Metal workers and plastic workers suffered 5 of 17 work-related deaths within the production occupational group. Motor vehicle operators accounted for 12 of the work-related deaths within the transportation and material moving group. The construction and extraction occupational group had the third-highest number of fatalities with 16. Construction trades workers accounted for all 16 fatalities.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities in Wisconsin, similar to the national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 26 percent of the fatalities for men in Wisconsin.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 79 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 61 percent of work-related deaths.

• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 44 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2020, compared to 56 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• Of the 108 fatal work injuries in Wisconsin, 59 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was violence and other injuries by persons or animals; contact with objects and equipment was the most frequent fatal event for self-employed 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 2020 national data, over 21,600 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/oshcfdef.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/cfoiscope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene 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, Wisconsin, 2019–20

Event or exposure (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	113	108	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	15	26	24
Intentional injury by person	13	26	24
Intentional injury by other person	5	12	11
Shooting by other person--intentional	3	11	10
Self-inflicted injury--intentional	8	14	13
Shooting--intentional self-harm	3	6	6
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm	--	4	4
Transportation incidents	41	29	27
Pedestrian vehicular incident	5	10	9
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	6	6
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	--	3	3
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	27	8	7
Roadway collision with other vehicle	19	5	5
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	8	1	1
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	--	1	1
Roadway noncollision incident	2	3	3
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	7	9	8
Nonroadway noncollision incident	7	5	5
Fires and explosions	--	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	23	13	12
Falls on same level	7	5	5
Falls to lower level	16	8	7
Other fall to lower level	12	8	7
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	14	--	--
Contact with objects and equipment	17	27	25
Struck by object or equipment	10	16	15
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	3	4	4
Struck by other falling powered vehicle	--	1	1
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	5	9	8
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	--	7	6
Caught in running equipment or machinery	--	3	3
Overexertion and bodily reaction	--	--	--
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.
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 https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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, Wisconsin, 2019–20

Industry (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	113	108	100
Private industry (2)	103	106	98
Goods producing	--	--	--
Natural resources and mining	25	27	25
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	25	27	25
Crop production	9	13	12
Oilseed and grain farming	3	3	3
Other crop farming	--	1	1
All other crop farming	--	1	1
Animal production and aquaculture	16	10	9
Cattle ranching and farming	14	7	6
Forestry and logging	--	4	4
Construction	--	13	12
Construction	--	13	12
Construction of buildings	--	5	5
Specialty trade contractors	--	8	7
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	--	6	6
Roofing contractors	--	4	4
Manufacturing	--	21	19
Manufacturing	--	21	19
Food manufacturing	--	4	4
Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing	--	6	6
Beverage manufacturing	--	6	6
Breweries	--	6	6
Plastics and rubber products manufacturing	--	3	3
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	--	4	4
Service providing (3)	--	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	23	22	20
Wholesale trade	5	3	3
Retail trade	6	10	9
Gasoline stations	--	3	3
Gasoline stations	--	3	3
Gasoline stations with convenience stores	--	3	3
Transportation and warehousing	12	9	8
Truck transportation	10	7	6
General freight trucking	4	5	5
Information	--	--	--
Financial activities	4	--	--
Professional and business services	9	--	--
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	9	6	6
Administrative and support services	--	6	6
Educational and health services	--	--	--
Educational services	--	1	1
Educational services	--	1	1
Colleges, universities, and professional schools	--	1	1
Colleges, universities, and professional schools	--	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	--	6	6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	--	3	3
Accommodation and food services	6	3	3
Other services, except public administration	3	6	6
Other services, except public administration	3	6	6
Government (4)	10	--	--
Federal government	--	--	--
State government	--	--	--
Local government	8	1	1
Footnotes: (1) CFOI has used several versions of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) since 2003 to define industry. For complete information on the version of NAICS used in this year, see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. (2) Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts. (3) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts. (4) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Cases classified as foreign government and other government are included in all government counts, but not displayed separately.
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 https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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, Wisconsin, 2019–20

Occupation (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	113	108	100
Management occupations	17	18	17
Other management occupations	16	18	17
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	13	15	14
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	13	15	14
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
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	4	--	--
Food preparation and serving related occupations	3	--	--
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	4	5	5
Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	--	3	3
First-line supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	--	3	3
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers	--	3	3
Personal care and service occupations	--	1	1
Supervisors of personal care and service workers	--	1	1
First-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workers	--	1	1
First-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workers, except gambling services	--	1	1
Sales and related occupations	4	5	5
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	12	11	10
Agricultural workers	12	7	6
Construction and extraction occupations	20	16	15
Construction trades workers	13	16	15
Carpenters	3	3	3
Carpenters	3	3	3
Roofers	--	3	3
Roofers	--	3	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	13	9	8
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	8	4	4
Maintenance and repair workers, general	6	4	4
Maintenance and repair workers, general	6	4	4
Production occupations	7	17	16
Metal workers and plastic workers	--	5	5
Other production occupations	--	4	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	25	17	16
Motor vehicle operators	21	12	11
Footnotes: (1) CFOI has used several versions of the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system since 2003 to define occupation. For complete information on the version of SOC used in this year, see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
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 https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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, Wisconsin, 2019–20

Worker characteristics	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	113	108	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	77	64	59
Self-employed (2)	36	44	41
Gender
Men	100	97	90
Women	13	11	10
Age (3)
25 to 34 years	13	13	12
35 to 44 years	19	15	14
45 to 54 years	29	20	19
55 to 64 years	23	23	21
65 years and over	18	31	29
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	92	85	79
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	--	6	6
Hispanic or Latino	11	12	11
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. Cases where employment status is unknown are included in the counts of wage and salary workers. (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) Information may not be available for all age groups. (4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude data for Hispanics and Latinos. Cases where ethnicity is unknown are included in counts of non-Hispanic workers.
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 https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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.