A Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index (LMWSI) report published earlier this year outlined what the leading causes of serious on-the-job injuries are. The researchers working on the project defined “serious” as any incident that causes workers to miss five or more days from the job.
The data compiled as part of the LMWSI report shows that overexertion injuries are the leading reason that workers have to take off five or more days from work each year. At least 23.65% of the serious injuries reported by employees each year are these types of injuries.
Second on the list of incidents that result in worker injuries are same-level falls. They account for 18.72% of all serious worker injuries.
Other notable ways that workers get hurt on the job include being struck by equipment or an object and by falling to a lower level. These account for 9.42 and 8.99% of all serious injuring incidents, respectively. Bodily reactions and other types of exertions account for 6.65% of all serious injuring incidents.
The remaining factors listed cause less than 5% each of all serious workplace injuries. They include motor-vehicle incidents, slips and trips, caught in between or compression accidents, repetitive motion and struck-by injuries. When combined, these account for just over 17% of all incidents in which workers are seriously hurt on the job.
LMWSI data also shows that the top 10 disabling workplace incidents listed above account for 84.66% of all on-the-job injuries. The total monetary value of the lost wages and medical costs that employers are expected to foot the bill for when workers are hurt in these types of incidents is just over $46 billion.
While there are certainly some professions that are more dangerous than others, virtually anyone can be seriously hurt on the job if certain factors line up. Medical expenses can be quite costly. If your injuries are so disabling that they make it difficult for you to work, then you may wonder how you’ll afford your everyday expenses.
A workers’ compensation attorney can let you know about options available to injured Pennsylvania employees. If you decide to move forward in filing a claim against your Pittsburgh employer, then your lawyer can help guide you through the process of doing that.