Work fatalities increase:51% of deaths in transportation incidents in SC

Southeast Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in South Carolina was up from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 139 in 1999 to a low of 63 in 2012 according to the report title “Fatal Occupational Injuries in South Carolina — 2022.”

Nationwide, a total of 5,486 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2022, a 5.7% increase from 5,190 in 2021, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Fatal event or exposure

In South Carolina, transportation incidents resulted in 51 fatal work injuries and accounted for 39% of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. Worker deaths from transportation incidents were up from 49 in the previous year.

Contact with objects and equipment was the second-most frequent fatal work event with 23 fatalities, up from 11 in the prior year. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in 21 fatalities, followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals with 19 work-related deaths.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in 2022, accounting for 38% of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips were the second-most common fatal event (16%), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals along with exposure to harmful substances or environments (15%).

The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in South Carolina with 24, up from 21 in the previous year. Transportation incidents resulted in 9 of the 24 fatalities in the industry. The residential building construction industry group accounted for 7, or 29%, of the 24 fatal workplace injuries in the construction industry.

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had 20 fatal workplace injuries. Transportation incidents accounted for 15 of the fatal injuries in this industry. The general freight trucking industry group accounted for 8, or 40%, of the 20 fatal workplace injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 35. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 19 of the 35 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 20. Construction trades workers suffered 18 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 92 percent of the work-related fatalities in South Carolina and nationwide. Transportation incidents made up 38% of the fatalities for men in South Carolina.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for 62% of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 58% of work-related deaths.
• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 52% of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2022, compared to the national rate of 57%.
• Of the 132 fatal work injuries in South Carolina, 88% worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers and for self-employed workers.

Technical note

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 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 2022 national data, over 27,200 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 and the CFOI definitions (https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm).