7 common injuries

7/31/2019 7 Common Injuries

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The Seven Most Common, High Cost Injuries

in Washington State1998-2002

And in what industries they occurred

Dept. of Labor & Industries Workers Compensation Claims Data Analysis

Source: Prioritizing Industries for Occupational Injury and Illness Prevention, Dept. of Labor &Industries SHARP Technical Report # 64-1-2005 March, 2005


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Summary

Between 1998-2002, Washington state workers filed166,722 compensable injury claims with theDepartment of Labor & Industries (L & I).

Seven common, high cost injury types were identifiedin these claims:

Caught in/under/between

Falls from elevation

Falls at same level

Struck By/against

Motor vehicle accidents

Musculoskeletal disorders of the lower extremities

Musculoskeletal disorders of the neck, back and upper extremities


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Summary (continued)

These seven injury types accounted for:

- 91.6% of all compensable claims,

- 94.7% of compensable claim costs,

- 95.5% of all compensable time-lossdays (days off work)

These claims cost an estimated $3.9 billionin paid benefits and resulted in 24.3 milliondays off work during the 5 years studied.


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What are compensable claims?

Compensable claims are worker claims for seriousinjuries that result in time off from work for medicaltreatment and recovery.

Compensable claim payments include medical bills,compensation for days off work and disabilitypayments.

Claims involving simple medical treatment for minor

injuries with no days off work are not included.

Compensable claims account for 92.1% of all claimscosts paid by the worker compensation system.


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What is a caught in/under/betweeninjury?

An injury produced by squeezing, pinching orcrushing a part of the body between a moving or

stationary object, between two moving objects or

between parts of an object.

Examples: hand caught in a rotating part of a machine

finger amputated by a rotating saw blade

Toes crushed by wheels of a moving vehicle

Worker pulled into an auger


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What is a fall from elevation injury?

An injury from a fall from one level to a lower levelor an impact against an object that is lower thanthe level the person is standing on.

Examples: fall from a rooffall from a ladder

fall from a truck, tractoror construction vehicle

fall from a scaffoldfall off a raised deck or platform

fall off a loading dock


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What is a fall from same level injury?

An injury resulting from falling over to the same levelas the working surface or falling into or against anobject at the same level.

Examples: tripping over a cord or clutter on the floor

losing balance while carrying a heavy object

falling against a sharp object

Slipping on a wet floor


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What is a struck by/against injury?

Struck against is an injury from impacting objectsduring movement, such as bumping into objects,stepping on objects, or being pushed or thrownagainst objects. Does not include falls.

Examples: bumping head on overhead beam

hand slips off hand tool

accidentally touching a hot pipe

Struck by is an injury resulting from a falling or

flying object, or being struck by another person.

Examples: object falling off a platform onto a worker

grinding dust in eye

noise exposure (noise strikes eardrum)

kicked by patient in a mental hospital


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What is a motor vehicle injury?

Injuries from motor vehicle accidents, includingcollisions, rollovers and sideswipes. The injured personcan be the driver or a passenger, but does not include

accidents as passengers on public transportation.


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What is a musculoskeletal disorder ofthe lower extremity?

Injuries to the legs, knees, ankles, foot fromoverexertion, prolonged kneeling, or otherbodily motion.

(These do not include impact injuries to the lower extremities.)


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What is a musculoskeletal disorder of theneck, back & upper extremities?

Injuries to the neck, back, arms, wrists orhands due to overexertion, repetitivemotion, lifting, pulling pushing or carrying

objects, or excessive vibration.Examples:

back injuries sciatica, disc problems, low back pain

shoulder injuries rotator cuff damage

elbow injuries epicondylitis

carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger

hand/wrist tendinitis


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Industries Where Compensable Injuries Occur

Industries are classified by North AmericanIndustrial Classification system (NAICS) intoindustry groups which describes the businessesby the type of commerce they do.

Examples are logging, general freight trucking,residential building construction, and foundation,structure & building exterior contractors.

Industries which have either a large number ofclaims or a high rate of claims (#of claims per100 employees) or both, have been ranked by aPrevention Index.


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What is the Prevention Index?

It is the average of an industrys ranking inthe number of claims and the claims rate*.

The more the claims and the higher the

claims rate, the lower the prevention indexnumber.

In other words, an industry with a very lowprevention index number will have a largenumber and a high rate of compensableclaims.

*claims rate - the number of injury claims per 10,000 employees


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Top 5 NAICS industries for caughtin/under/between injury claims

Rating by Prevention Index1.Other Wood Product Manufacturing

2.Logging

3.Converted Paper Product Mfg.

4.Cattle Ranching & Farming

5.Architectural & Structural Metals Mfg.

For a description of these industries, click here.
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Top 5 NAICs industries with fall fromelevation injury claims

Rating by Prevention Index1.Foundation, Structure & Building Exterior Contractors

2.Building Finishing Contractors

3.Residential Building Construction

4.Fruit & Nut Tree Farming

5.Logging

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Top 5 industries with falls at same levelinjury claims

Rating by Prevention Index1.Logging

2.Foundation, Structure & Building Exterior Contractors

3.General Freight Trucking


5.Limited Service Eating Places

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Top 5 industries with struck by/againstinjury claims

Rating by Prevention Index


2.Logging


4.Psychiatric & Substance Abuse Hospitals

5.Other Wood Product Mfg.



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Top 5 industries with motor vehicle injuryclaims



2.Specialized Freight Trucking

3.Couriers

4.Logging

5.Local Messengers & Local Delivery



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Top 5 industries with lower extremitiesmusculoskeletal disorder claims




3.Residential Building Contractors


5.Logging



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Top 5 industries with neck, back & upperextremities musculoskeletal disorder claims




3.Nursing Care Facilities

4.Community Care for the Elderly




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Some Conclusions

This review of worker compensation claims filed inWashington state showed that the seven most seriousinjuries occurred most frequently in logging andbuilding construction.

These injuries are reflected in the higher premiumspaid by employers in these categories - $2.50 to $8.00per hour per employee.

Taking injury prevention measures would reduce bothworker pain and suffering and industrial insurance

costs for employers in these industries.

7 common injuries

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