Workplace Injury Statistics: 2.5 Million Injuries and 5,070 Deaths in 2024
Reference Guide
These are the newest official U.S. figures as of October 2026. Private employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2024, and 5,070 workers died from work injuries. Both are the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics counts. The 2025 numbers are due November 18 and December 16, 2026. This is a statistics page, not a lawsuit — there is no settlement and no claim form. Every figure below names its source, its base and its year.
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Nonfatal Injuries: The BLS SOII Numbers for 2024
Most workplace injury statistics come from one survey: the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), which is based on employer records. The 2024 edition was released on January 22, 2026 (BLS release USDL-26-0101).
2.5 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses were reported by private-industry employers in 2024. That is down 3.1% from 2023 and the lowest count since the series began in 2003.
2.3 cases per 100 full-time workers was the total recordable case rate, down from 2.4 in 2023. Illness cases fell 26.0% to 148,000.
Time off work: over 2023–2024 there were 1.8 million cases with days away from work, with a median of 8 days away. Another 1.1 million cases meant a job transfer or restricted duty, with a median of 15 days.
Most common causes: over 2023–2024, overexertion, repetitive motion and bodily conditions caused 946,290 serious cases (days away, restriction or transfer). Contact incidents — being struck by or caught in something — caused 860,050.
Case details
Workplace fatalities are counted separately, in the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The 2024 census was released on February 19, 2026 (BLS release USDL-26-0230).
5,070 workers died from work injuries in 2024, down 4.0% from 5,283 in 2023. The rate was 3.3 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, and a worker died every 104 minutes.
How workers died (2024): transportation incidents 1,937 (38.2% of all deaths); falls, slips and trips 844; violent acts 733, of which 470 were homicides; harmful substances or environments 687, including 410 overdoses. Pedestrians struck by vehicles rose 19.0% to 369.
Where the risk is highest. For deaths, the private industry with the highest rate was agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting: 20.9 per 100,000 workers. Mining followed at 13.8, then transportation and warehousing at 12.2. Construction had the most deaths, 1,034, at a rate of 9.2 (BLS industry chart).
For nonfatal cases, transportation and warehousing had the highest sector rate in 2024 at 4.4 per 100 workers, then agriculture at 3.9. Within private health care, nursing and residential care facilities reached 5.5 and hospitals 5.1. State-government nursing facilities hit 8.3 (BLS rate table). If you work in construction, our construction accident calculator shows how those claims are valued.
Status: 2025 Figures Due November 18 and December 16, 2026
Quotable figures — each one stands on its own:
• U.S. private-industry employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2024, a rate of 2.3 cases per 100 full-time workers (BLS SOII, released January 22, 2026).
• 5,070 U.S. workers died from work injuries in 2024 — one every 104 minutes, at a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full-time workers (BLS CFOI, released February 19, 2026).
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting had the highest fatal injury rate of any private industry in 2024, at 20.9 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers (BLS CFOI).
• Of 268,323 workers’ compensation claims assembled by the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board in 2025, 60,634 (22.6%) had an attorney (Settlement Insight count of NY WCB open data).
• Federal OSHA conducted 34,696 inspections in fiscal year 2024, with about 1,850 inspectors for 130 million workers (OSHA).
What These Workplace Safety Statistics Do and Do Not Count
People searching for workplace injuries statistics usually want one national number. Each source counts something different.
SOII is a survey of private employers based on the injury records they keep. It is an estimate, and it only covers cases the employer recorded. The headline 2.5 million figure is private industry only. State and local government are reported separately, at a rate of 4.4 per 100 workers.
CFOI is a census. It tries to count every fatal work injury using several records sources, so it is not limited to what employers report.
OSHA figures measure enforcement, not injuries. Federal OSHA conducted 34,696 inspections in fiscal 2024. The standard it cited most often was fall protection in construction (29 CFR 1926.501), followed by hazard communication (29 CFR 1910.1200) and lockout/tagout (29 CFR 1910.147), per OSHA’s commonly used statistics.
None of these sources publishes settlement amounts or average payouts. Those come from claims and court data, which is the next section.
What Happens Next: Workers’ Comp by the Numbers
Nationally: workers’ comp paid $64.1 billion in benefits in 2023, and medical care was more than 47% of that. Programs covered nearly 150 million jobs (NASI, 2023 data, published August 2026).
New York, our own count: we tallied the New York Workers’ Compensation Board’s public claim file (NY WCB open data). It shows 268,323 claims assembled in 2025, against 270,328 in 2024. By claim type in 2025:
• 185,524 (69.1%) were non-comp, meaning no lost-time cash benefits
• 43,140 (16.1%) received temporary disability benefits
• 32,550 (12.1%) were medical only
• 2,811 were permanent partial (schedule loss) awards
• 79 were death claims
In 2025, 22.6% of these claims had an attorney. Most workers file and resolve claims without one.
To estimate your own weekly benefit, use the workers’ compensation calculator. State rules are compared in workers’ comp by state, and settlement value is covered in what a comp case is worth.
Work Injury Statistics Timeline
1970 — About 38 Worker Deaths a Day
OSHA puts the baseline at about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970. By 2023 its figure was 15 a day.
January 22, 2026 — SOII 2024 Released
BLS reports 2.5 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in private industry and a rate of 2.3 per 100 workers. Both are series lows going back to 2003.
February 19, 2026 — CFOI 2024 Released
BLS counts 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024, down 4.0% from 5,283, at a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 workers.
August 2026 — Workers’ Comp Totals for 2023
NASI reports $64.1 billion in workers’ compensation benefits paid in 2023, with medical care more than 47%.
November 18, 2026 — SOII 2025 Scheduled
BLS is scheduled to publish nonfatal injury and illness estimates for 2025.
December 16, 2026 — CFOI 2025 Scheduled
BLS is scheduled to publish the 2025 count of fatal work injuries. Until then, 2024 is the latest official year.
Three Things to Watch For
Injury statistics are widely reused in advertising. Watch for these three patterns:
“Average workplace injury settlement” figures with no source
BLS, OSHA and the NASI report count injuries, deaths, inspections and total benefits paid. None of them publishes an average settlement. A dollar “average” with no named dataset, base and year was not taken from these sources.
Callers who say they “saw your injury report”
Injury records feed statistics, but those statistics do not identify you. Someone who calls after an accident, offers to “file your comp claim” and asks for a fee or your Social Security number up front is not your state workers’ comp board.
“Don’t report it, we’ll take care of it”
An injury that is never reported is never counted, and it may never get a comp claim either. Report it in writing to your employer and keep a copy. Our claim process guide explains why a delay can cost you benefits.
Workplace Injury Statistics — Questions People Actually Ask
Short answers to the questions people ask most about this case.
How many workplace injuries were there in 2024?
Private-industry employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2024. That is a rate of 2.3 per 100 full-time workers, per the BLS SOII released January 22, 2026.
How many workplace fatalities were there in 2024?
There were 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024, down from 5,283 in 2023, at a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full-time workers (BLS CFOI, February 19, 2026). The 2025 count is scheduled for December 16, 2026.
What is the most dangerous industry?
By death rate in 2024, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, at 20.9 per 100,000 workers. Construction had the most deaths (1,034). For nonfatal injuries, transportation and warehousing had the highest sector rate, at 4.4 per 100 workers.
What are work-related injuries, and what causes most of them?
SOII counts injuries and illnesses that employers record, and it tracks the serious ones: days away from work, job restriction or transfer. Over 2023–2024, overexertion, repetitive motion and bodily conditions caused the most serious cases (946,290). Contact incidents came next (860,050). For deaths, transportation incidents lead, at 38.2% in 2024.
Who is affected by a workplace incident?
By occupation, transportation and material moving workers had the most deaths in 2024 (1,391). Construction and extraction workers had 1,032. Hispanic or Latino workers died at a rate of 4.3 per 100,000, above the overall 3.3. Women were 8.1% (413) of worker deaths, per BLS CFOI.
How to handle injuries at work?
This page gives statistics, not step-by-step instructions. For the steps after an injury (reporting it, the claim forms, deadlines and appeals), see the workers’ compensation claim process. The rules are set by your state’s workers’ comp board.
How many injured workers hire a lawyer?
In New York, 60,634 of the 268,323 claims assembled in 2025 had an attorney, or 22.6%. That is our count of the NY Workers’ Compensation Board open-data file. Other states do not publish comparable data, so do not treat this figure as national.
When are the 2025 workplace injury statistics released?
BLS has scheduled 2025 nonfatal injury data for November 18, 2026 and 2025 fatality data for December 16, 2026, both at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. This page will be updated with those numbers.
About This Information
Editorially Reviewed — Content reviewed for accuracy using published legal research, government data, and verified court records. See our methodology. Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated - $236 billion in real payouts analyzed · See what we found
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Lawsuit status, eligibility, and compensation can change. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and does not represent any party. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.
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