National Safety Council injury statistics

According to the NSC, the economic impact of fatal and nonfatal unintentional injuries amounted to 693.5 billion in 2009. This is equivalent to about 2,300 per capita, or about 5,900 per household. These are costs that every individual and household pays whether directly out of pocket, through higher prices for goods and services, or through higher taxes. Approximately 35,000,000 hours are lost in a typical year as a result of accidents. (National Safety Council, Injury and Death Statistics, Injury Facts, 2009)... 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the injury frequency rate for all manufacturing companies rose from 11.8 in 1960 to 15.3 in 1970. The National Safety Council estimates that there are around 15,000 job-related deaths each year and another 2,300,000 workers suffer disabling injuries. The total cost associated with these accidents is nearly 9,500,000,000/yr. 14 These figures are conservative,... 

The chemical industry has an excellent record of meeting that challenge. In 1985, the latest year for which national statistics are available, chemical companies reporting to the National Safety Council had a lost-time injury rate of 0.52 injuries per 200,000 hours worked, compared to a rate of 1.98, nearly four times higher, for all U.S. industry (1). 

The National Safety Council of the United States reports volumes of statistics on recordable work injuries and illnesses based on recordkeeping requirements of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The 1995 figures were based on 124 million employees. [37]... 

The Safety Council studies show that the Chemical Manufacturing Industries are among the top four safest performers when rating 40 plus principal industries in terms of Loss of Time Injuries. This trend is not just for 1995, but for at least 15 years since 1 started reviewing them in the early 1980s. The National Safety Council reported that, in 1995, the chemical industry had an incident rate of 0.48. This statistic means diat if a group of 1,000 chemical workers worked 40 hours a week for a year (or 2,0(X) hours... 

According to the latest injury statistics released by the National Safety Council, for every one injury at work there are three home injuries (non-work related) reported. Are U.S. homes so unsafe Or are these statistics now showing the result of many years of the industrial injury-reporting fear factor Are employees taking work injuries home because of the fear factor ... 

Because of the estimating procedure the National Safety Council statistics may undercount U.S. workplace fatalities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has also calculated worlq>lace fatality rates since the late 1930s but the scope of their survey has changed so dramatically that one cannot use the BLS data to identify a time trend. Nevertheless, the BLS s most recent data collection effort creates the most reliable source of information on fatal workplace accidents in the United States. 1 The BLS conducted a census of fatal occupational injuries for 1992 using data from death certificates, workers compensation claims, medical examiners records, autopsy reports, motor vehicle accident records, and OSH A and Mine Safety and Health Administration fatal injury reports. The BLS estimated Ae average worker in the United... 

There are at least three major sources of injury, disease, and death statistics in the United States. One is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These are federal government agencies. A private source is the National Safety Council. In addition, there are many other federal and state agency sources for injury data. Overall, the data show that accidental injuries are significant. After achieving major reductions, there is still an ongoing need to prevent injuries, illnesses, and deaths. 

Locate the injury and death statistics published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CDC, and the National Safety Council for the last four years. Discuss the significant findings and trends found in these statistical sources. 

Injury Facts, 2014 Edition, National Safety Council, Itasca, IL. Available at www.nsc.org/news resources/injury and death statistics/Documents/InjuryFactsHighlights.pdf... 

Slips and falls may appear to be simple trivial accidents, but they result in thousands of deaths and cost billions of dollars in direct and indirect cost [59]. According to statistics compiled by the National Safety Council, falls are the second leading cause of accidental deaths. Over 40% of the dollars spent on workers compensation in the U.S. food service industry are due to the results of slips and falls. Annual expense from slips and falls is about 12,000 per restaurant for an average of 3-4 accidents per year. In 1988, for example, more than 12,000 people died from accidental falls. In public areas such as hotels, motels, and restaurants, slips and falls occur more frequently than any other accidents. Slips and falls can result in serious injuries, especially to the head and back. The floor surface is the single most important factor contributing to slips and falls. The slip-fall relationship between the floor snrface and the floor coating is also an important consideration, as it relates to liability and worker s compensation, especially in the fast food industry, where a floor can be wet or greasy. 

A comprehensive source for data concerning occupational fatalities is maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The CFOI is an official, systematic, verifiable count of fatal occupational injuries that occur during the year (Bureau of Labor Statistics 1997). It has been adopted by the National Safety Council and other organizations as the authoritative source for a count of fatal work injuries in the United States. 

Because injuries received from falls in the workplace are such a common occurrence— in a typical year more than 10,000 workers will lose their lives in falls—safety officials need to be aware of not only fall hazards but also the need to institute a fall protection safety program (Kohr, 1989). Just how frequent and serious are accidents related to falls Let s look at a few telling facts about falls in the workplace. The National Safety Council s annual report typically predicts 1400 or more deaths and more than 400,000 disabling injuries to occur each year due to falls. Falls are the leading cause of disabling injuries in the United States, accounting for close to 18% of all workers compensation claims. A Bureau of Labor Statistics 24-state survey reported that 60% of elevated falls were under 10 feet, and 50% of those were under 5 feet (Pater, 1985). The primary causes of falls have been identified as the following (Kohr, 1989) ... 

For Table 8.3 and Table 8.4, the data is based on excerpts from Accident Facts (1995), National Safety Council (NSC), and the National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1996-2010, issued by Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

A recent study titled Can Woiker Safety Impact Customer Satisfaction which was conducted by the National Safety Council (NSC) and published in the Journal of Safety Research, studied 821 anployees at a Midwestern electric utility company s power delivery and customer care groups to consider how a company s safety climate and workplace injury statistics might impact customer satisfaction. ... 

The most typical safety measurement tool is to track the number of accidents. The types of data needed to do this are costs of system downtime (and lost productivity and product or market share), equipment damaged during an accident, accident cleanup, equipment replacement, and, of course, personnel injuries and death (including medical costs, workman s compensation, and potential lawsuits). These data can be easily trended and tracked on a monthly or quarterly basis. You can then compare your statistics to national averages. The U.S. National Safety Council (many countries publish comparable information at the federal governmental level) publishes accident costs across all industries. These costs include estimates of lost wages, medical expenses, insurance administration costs, and uninsured costs. 

The National Safety Council http //www.nsc.org/ (accessed September 14, 2010) compiles and publishes statistics and reports, including Injury Facts that compiles annual data on fatal and nonfatal unintentional injuries, including those on streets and highways. Published since 1927, it was previously known as Accident Facts. Available in hard copy and on CD. 

Motor vehicle accident statistics have been collected and published by various organizations and are made available to motor fleet safety directors. One of the better sources available on the market is Injury Facts (formerly titled Accident Facts ) The National Safety Council publishes this book, and it contains a tremendous amount of useful statistics and information. It even breaks down the incidents by type of vehicle, work zones, states, and so forth. 

National Safety Council statisticians have created a comprehensive system for tracking and compiling injury and illness data, including annual publication of the aforementioned Injury Facts, an authoritative compendium of safety and health statistics. Council researchers also produce the Journal of Safety Research, an international, interdisciplinary scientific quarterly that contains research articles written by experts in all fields. The council s Environmental Health Center, based in Washington, D.C., is a leading provider of credible and timely information and community-based programs on environmental and public health issues. 

The National Health Survey conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service is a continuous sample of households to record health data including those injuries experienced by members of the households within two weeks prior to the interview. Accident figures reported by the National Safety Council are based on this sample. In 1984, 39,000 out of the nation s 85 million households were interviewed. The survey of occupational injuries and diseases conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics involves a nationwide sample of approximately 280,000 companies. The figures are not comparable to the National Survey data due to differences in accident definitions and employment coverage. 

The National Safety Council, in another statistics-related article, stated that the total cost of injuries and illnesses is staggering. The total cost is equal to the combined 1996 profits of the 20 largest corporations in America, stated Gerry Scannell, NSC president. Mr. Scanned, former head of OSHA during President George Bush s administration, stated that companies need to make safety a value in their workplace not only do effective safety programs save lives, they re also good business. ... 

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