2018 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
 

One of the criterions for publication requires that three or more incidents of a fatality must have occurred in a specific category before they may be published in a table. If numbers are omitted, and noted as such, it is because they did not meet publication requirements.
 

2018 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries News Release

History
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) produces comprehensive, accurate, and timely counts of fatal work injuries. CFOI is a Federal-State cooperative program that has been implemented in all 50 States and the District of Columbia since 1992. To compile counts that are as complete as possible, the census uses multiple sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal worker injuries. Information about each workplace fatality--occupation and other worker characteristics, equipment involved, and circumstances of the event--is obtained by cross referencing the source records, such as death certificates, workers' compensation reports, and Federal and State agency administrative reports. To ensure that fatalities are work-related, cases are substantiated with two or more independent source documents, or a source document and a follow-up questionnaire.

Data compiled by the CFOI program are issued annually for the preceding calendar year.

These data are used by safety and health policy analysts and researchers to help prevent fatal work injuries by:

The National Safety Council has adopted the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries figure, beginning with the 1992 data year, as the authoritative count for work related deaths in the United States.