Fatal Occupational Injuries In Maryland – 2023 - Research and Statistics - Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH)

For non fatal injury data in MD, please visit: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Fatal work injuries totaled 69 in 2023 for Maryland according to the latest fatality census results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The number of work-related fatalities for 2023 decreased from the 80 total fatalities in the previous year, 2022. Since 1992, fatal occupational injuries in Maryland have ranged from a high of 106, reported in 2006, to a low of 59, reported in 2020. Certain fatal events are not covered under the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health agency’s investigative oversight including cases of workplace homicide and suicide; certain transportation events, such as aircraft, rail, and highway crashes; and fatalities to the self-employed. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries does include these cases, therefore the work fatality count reported on CFOI is significantly higher.

Nationwide, a total of 5,283 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2023, a 3.7-percent decrease from 5,486 in 2022.

Maryland Division of Labor and Industry in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CFOI Program, December 2024.

Type of incident

In Maryland, transportation incidents was the most frequent type of incident resulting in 26 fatal work injuries. Transportation incidents was also the most frequent type of fatal event in the United States overall. There were 19 deaths as a result of exposure to harmful substances or environments which includes overdoses and environmental weather conditions, making this event the second leading cause of work-related deaths in Maryland. In 2022, exposure to harmful substances or environments accounted for 9 work related fatalities while violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second most frequent with 22 fatalities. Compared to this year, there were only 9 deaths as a result of violent acts. These three major categories accounted for just over 78 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state compared to 68 percent in 2022.

Source: Maryland Division of Labor and Industry in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CFOI Program, December 2024.
Note: Total may not equal 100 percent due to rounding.

Industry

Private sector transportation and warehousing accounted for 17 fatalities, up from 12 in 2022, making it the industry with the highest fatalities in 2023. Private sector construction accounted for the largest number of fatalities in 2022. In 2023, it accounted for the second largest number of work-related deaths with 15 fatalities, 6 of which were due to exposure to harmful substances or environments. Nationally, construction had the most fatalities among all industry sectors in 2023. Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services accounted for 9 fatalities in the state, down from 11 in 2022. Maryland’s local government accounted for 4 of the 7 government fatalities, down from 7 in 2022.

Source: Maryland Division of Labor and Industry in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CFOI Program, December 2024.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of deaths in Maryland at 21, a decrease from 26 in 2022. Workers in transportation and material moving occupations represented the occupational group with the most fatalities nationally as well. The occupational group with the second highest number of fatal work injuries in Maryland was construction and extraction occupations at 15, compared to 11 in 2022. Protective service occupations and installation, maintenance, and repair occupations were tied for third with eight fatalities. In 2022, protective service occupations accounted for 11 fatalities while installation, maintenance, and repair occupations accounted for 8.

Source: Maryland Division of Labor and Industry in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CFOI Program, December 2024.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 91 percent of work-related fatalities in Maryland, the same as in 2022. Nationally, men accounted for just over 91 percent of all work-related fatalities in 2023. Women accounted for nearly 9 percent of the work-related fatalities in Maryland, down from 10 percent in 2022. Nationally, women accounted for just over 8 percent of all fatalities in 2023.
• White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 41 percent of those who died from a workplace injury while Black or African American, non-Hispanic workers accounted for just below 32 percent and Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for just over 23 percent. In 2022, White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 46 percent of those who died from a workplace injury, Black or African American, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 35 percent, and Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 14 percent.
• Wage and salary workers accounted for almost 80 percent of work-related fatalities in 2023. In 2022, wage and salary workers accounted for just over 81 percent of work-related fatalities. There was an increase in self-employed worker workplace deaths from last year. In 2022, self-employed workers accounted for 19 percent of workplace deaths. In 2023, the share of self-employed worker deaths was 20 percent. Nationally, wage and salary workers accounted for 83 percent of all work-related fatalities and self-employed workers accounted for just over 17 percent.

Scope and Program Technical Notes

The Maryland Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program collects and publishes statistics on all fatal work injures occurring in the State of Maryland. Maryland CFOI is conducted within the Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry in cooperation with the U.S Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. CFOI’s published results are the U.S. government’s official tally of workplace fatalities for the nation. Maryland has participated in the CFOI program every year since the program’s inception in 1992.

CFOI provides for a complete accounting of all fatal work injuries that occur in Maryland each year. The program uses diverse data sources from a variety of federal, state, and local government administrative records, as well as the media, in order to substantiate and profile fatal work injuries. CFOI includes data for all workplace fatalities regardless of whether the fatality was under the regulatory authority of the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health agency or other federal and state agencies. Any comparisons, therefore, between the CFOI program’s counts and those released by other agencies or sources should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used.

For a fatality to be included in this census, the decedent must have been employed (defined as working for pay, compensation, or profit) at the time of the event, engaged in a legal work activity, or present at the site of the incident as a requirement of his or her job. Fatalities to volunteers and unpaid family workers who perform the same duties and functions as paid workers are also included in the count. These criteria are generally broader than those used by state and federal agencies administering specific laws and regulations. (Fatalities that occur during a person’s normal commute to and from work are excluded from the census counts.)

Data presented in this release include deaths occurring in 2023 that resulted from traumatic occupational injuries. An injury is defined as any wound or damage to the body resulting from acute exposure to energy, such as heat, electricity, or impact from a crash or fall, or from the absence of such essentials as heat or oxygen, caused by a specific event or incident within a single workday or shift. Fatal injuries included in the fatality census are open wounds; intracranial and internal injuries; heatstroke; hypothermia; asphyxiation; acute poisonings, resulting from short-term exposures limited to the worker’s shift; suicides and homicides; and work injuries listed as underlying or contributory causes of death.

Division of Labor and Industry
Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH)
10946 Golden West Drive, Suite 160
Hunt Valley, MD 21031
Phone: 410-527-4499
Fax: 410-527-4481
e-mail: MOSH.Complaints@Maryland.gov
Directions to the Hunt Valley Training Center

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