NIOSH Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Fact Sheet: Services

Number, rate, and costs of fatal occupational injuries in the U.S. construction 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	8964	1.8	$8,034	$901	$872
Sex:
Male	7318	3.8	6589	905	875
Female	1646	0.5	1446	883	865
Race of decedent:
White	7357	1.7	6699	915	899
Black	1038	1.7	850	821	801
Other*	569	2.4	486	859	805
Age of decedent:
16–19	230	1.2	180	784	751
20–24	719	1.5	680	946	877
25–34	1927	1.5	2182	1132	1054
35–44	2201	1.6	2561	1163	1084
45–54	1843	1.7	1750	949	881
55–64	1251	2.4	621	496	455
65+	793	4.7	61	81	64
Occupation group:†
Managerial and professional specialty	2871	1.2	3331	1165	1248
Technical, sales, and administrative support	1055	0.9	1030	980	991
Service	1869	1.7	1161	625	712
Farming, forestry, and fishing	240	5.4	139	580	672
Precision production, craft, and repair	1310	5.7	1164	895	976
Operators, fabricators, and laborers	1552	7.3	1157	749	801
Event or exposure:†
Contact with objects and equipment	823	0.2	678	830	849
Falls	908	0.2	607	679	720
Bodily reaction and exertion	50	0.0	38	765	661
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	849	0.2	798	942	904
Transportation accidents	3709	0.7	3571	967	967
Fires and explosions	285	0.1	248	873	872
Assaults and violent acts	2325	0.5	2082	897	831

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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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