NIOSH Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Fact Sheet: Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas, and Sanitary Services

Number, rate, and costs of fatal occupational injuries in the U.S. transportation, communications, electric, gas, and sanitary services industry by selected characteristics, 1992–2002

			Costs (2003 dollars)
Characteristic	Number of fatalities	Fatality rate(per 100,000 workers)	Total (millions)	Mean(thousands)	Median(thousands)
All incidents	10628	10.6	$9,783	$922	$942
Sex:
Male	10,087	14.1	9,302	924	944
Female	541	1.9	481	889	892
Race of decedent:
White	8,580	10.5	7,972	931	950
Black	1474	10.0	1247	847	866
Other*	574	14.3	564	984	987
Age of decedent:
16–19	95	6.8	76	804	749
20–24	503	7.2	500	993	938
25–34	2162	8.7	2489	1151	1052
35–44	2942	9.3	3309	1125	1041
45–54	2829	11.8	2582	913	861
55–64	1583	16.9	782	494	483
65+	514	29.7	44	89	65
Occupation group:†
Managerial and professional specialty	409	2.1	514	1259	1381
Technical, sales, and administrative support	1133	3.5	1498	1323	1330
Service	147	4.7	97	661	691
Farming, forestry, and fishing	31	20.3	19	601	656
Precision production, craft, and repair	1022	7.3	1091	1068	1117
Operators, fabricators, and laborers	7869	25.2	6552	834	892
Event or exposure:†
Contact with objects and equipment	892	0.9	744	835	868
Falls	427	0.4	352	825	847
Bodily reaction and exertion	21	0.0	16	754	775
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	698	0.7	727	1042	1059
Transportation accidents	7409	7.4	6917	935	955
Fires and explosions	179	0.2	177	994	1011
Assaults and violent acts	988	1.0	837	848	851

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*This category includes all other races, such as American Indian and Asian, as well as unknown or missing races.

^†Numbers are not reported for “unknown” or “not classified” categories.

Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Model

Theoretical Basis of Cost Estimation

The cost to society of a workplace fatality was estimated using the cost-of-illness approach, which combines direct and indirect costs to yield an overall cost of an occupational fatal injury. For these calculations, only medical expenses were used to estimate the direct cost associated with the fatality. The indirect cost was derived by calculating the present value of future earnings summed from the year of death until the decedent would have reached age 67, accounting for the probability of survival were it not for the premature death. (For more information, see Biddle, E [2004]. Economic Cost of Fatal Occupational Injuries in the United States, 1980–1997. Contemporary Economic Policy 22(3):370–381.)

Mathematical Representation of Indirect Costs

PVF = ΣPy,s (y+1)[Ys, j(n) + Yhs(n)] (1+g)n–y/(1+r)n–y
where:

PVF	= present discounted value of loss due to occupational fatal injury per person
Py,s (y+1)	= probability that a person of race r, sex s, and age y will survive to age y+1
y	= age of the person at death
s	= sex of the person
n	= age if the person had survived
Ys,j(n)	= median annual earnings of an employed person of sex s, occupation j, and age n (includes benefits and life-cycle wage growth adjustment)
Yhs(n)	= mean annual imputed value of home production of a person of sex s and age n
g	= wage growth rate attributable to overall productivity
r	= real discount rate (3%)

Data Sources

Fatality data: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). These data exclude military personnel, decedents with unknown age or sex, fatalities occurring in New York City, and fatalities from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Probability of survival: National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics.

Median annual earnings: BLS Current Population Survey. Wage data are based on the occupation of the decedent and the year of death adjusted by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Deflator to base year of dollar. Life-cycle wage growth was calculated based on the rate of change in wages between age groups.

Benefits: U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Benefits data are based on the industry where the decedent was employed and the year of death adjusted by the GDP Deflator.

Mean annual home production: Expectancy Data that were derived by a time diary study sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and conducted by the University of Maryland.

Wage growth rate: Based on BLS Employment Cost Index (ECI)

Medical costs: National Council on Compensation Insurance. Costs are a 3-year average cost.

Employment estimates for rate calculations: BLS Current Population Survey.

Fatality Rate Calculations

Fatality rates were calculated by NIOSH and may differ from previously published BLS CFOI rates. Fatality rates were calculated as deaths per 100,000 workers. Fatality rates for sex, race, age group, and occupation were calculated using employment estimates by the individual characteristic within the specific industry sector. Employment estimates for the specific industry sector were used to generate rates for event.

Classification Systems

Industry:	1987 Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC)
Occupation:	1990 Bureau of Census Occupational Classification System (BOC)
Event:	1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS)

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