Seven Most Common Workplace Injuries

 Posted on December 10, 2013 in Personal Injury

According to a Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention program performed by the Department of Labor & Industries, 95 percent of all worker’s compensation claims fall into seven categories of personal injury. The report studied claims for compensable injuries where employees were hurt badly enough to require time off work, a change in occupation, or resulted in permanent disability.

The report showed the seven most common categories of workplace injuries were as follows:

• Injuries where a person’s body part is pinched, squeezed, or crushed in a piece of machinery;
• Falls from roofs, ladders, or other elevated surfaces;
• Trips, slips, and falls on flat surfaces;
• Impact injuries where a part of the body is hit against or hit by a moving object. This category also included noise damage to the ear drum;
• Vehicle accidents;
• Work-related injuries to the knees, ankles, and feet and
• Musculoskeletal injuries to the neck, arms, or back caused by repetitive motion, overexertion, kneeling, squatting, lifting, poor posture, hand gripping, or vibration.

The study examined data from more than 810,000 worker’s compensation claims filed in Washington State from 1998-2002. The total cost for all claims during those years was more than $3.9 billion. However, though only 21 percent of those claims were considered serious enough to be labeled “compensable,” that 21 percent made up nearly 90 percent of the total cost. In this case the term “compensable” refers to claims in which workers received benefits beyond payment of their medical bills.

Workers in the construction industry were most affected by these types of injuries, with professions in the nursing, trucking, and manufacturing industries also being frequently affected.

If you have suffered an injury in the workplace, you may be eligible for a worker’s compensation claim. It is important that you contact a qualified personal injury attorney for help with the process. Martoccio & Martoccio has handled a number of personal injury and worker’s compensation cases and can help you receive the compensation you need as you recover from your injuries.