Work-related injury

The OSHA incidence rate provides information on all types of work-related injuries and illnesses, including fatalities. This provides a better representation of worker accidents than systems based on fatalities alone. For instance, a plant might experience many small accidents with resulting injuries but no fatalities. On the other hand, fatality data cannot be extracted from the OSHA incidence rate without additional information. 

Petroleum and chemical related hazards can arise from the presence of combustible or toxic liquids, gases, mist, or dust in the work environment. Common physical hazards include ambient heat, bums, noise, vibration, sudden pressure changes, radiation, and electric shock. Various external sources, such as chemical, biological, or physical hazards, can cause work related injuries or fatalities. Although all of these hazards are of concern this book primarily concentrates on fire and explosions hazards that can cause catastrophic events. 

US OSHA further requires a written report for each work-related injury or illness that is severe enough to be recordable. 

Alcohol abuse in the United States costs an estimated 170 billion each year. Close to half of this figure is due to a loss in workplace productivity resulting from illness and work-related injury. Other contributing factors are alcohol-related health care expenses costing society over 26 million and automobile accidents estimated at 15 million. Fifty percent of the adults in prison are incarcerated for crimes that are alcohol related. Alco-... 

In addition to the Civil Rights Act, other laws and regulations affect the management ofhuman resources. For instance, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop and enforce workplace standards designed to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths (OSHA, 2007). Of particular relevance to pharmacy are OSHA s ergonomic workplace standards and its rules for preventing exposure to hazardous chemicals and bloodborne pathogens. 

English T. 2001. One pharmacist s battle with work-related injuries. Pharmacy Today 7(5). 

NIOSH scientists work in multidisciplinary teams and carry out a focused program of intramural and extramural research to prevent or reduce work-related injury and illness. In 1996, NIOSH and over 500 partners established the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), a framework to guide the efforts of the occupational safety and health community in 21 priority research areas. NORA encompasses research areas such as traumatic injury, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hearing loss, and control technologies. These priority areas were identified through extensive input from NIOSH s federal and nonfederal partners. Since 1996, NIOSH has aligned its intramural and extramural research to increase its investment in NORA priority areas. 

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH 1997) states that musculoskeletal disorders, which include disorders of the back, trunk, upper extremity, neck, and lower extremity are one of the 10 leading work-related illnesses and injuries in the United States. Praemer et al, (1992) report that work-related upper-extremity disorders (WUEDs), which are formally defined by the Biureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as cumulative trauma illnesses, account for 11.0 % of aU work-related musculoskeletal disorders (illnesses). For comparison, occupational low-back disorders account for more than 51.0% of aU WRMDs. According to BLS (1995), the cumulative trauma illnesses of upper extremity accounted for more than 60% of the occupational illnesses reported in 1993. These work-related illnesses, which include hearing impairments due to occupational noise exposure, represent 6.0% of aU reportable work-related injuries and illnesses (Marras 1996). 

Barreto, S. M., Swerdlow, A. J., Smith, P. G., and Higgins, C. D. (1997), A Nested Case-Control Study of Fatal Work Related Injuries among Brazilian Steelworkers, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 54, pp. 599-604. 

Work-related diseases, 1082-1084 Work-related injuries, 1070, 1082. See also Occupational safety and health definition of, 1168-1170 descriptions of, 1167-1170 statistics related to, 1157, 1173-1174 Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs), 1082-1086, 1166 conceptual models for development of, 1083-1086 definition of, 1082... 

Lombardi, D., Folkard, S., Willets, J., Smith, G. (2010). Daily sleep, weekly working hours and risk of work related injury US national health interview survey (2004—2008). Chronobiology International, 27(5), 10103-11030. 

Slappendal, C., Laird, L., Kawachi, L, Marshell, S., Ctyer, C. (1993). Factors affecting work related injury in forestry workers A review. Journal of Safety Research, 24, 19-32. 

FIGURE 2.1 What does a work-related injury or illness cost ... 

Approximately 50 percent of all employers in the United States utilize some form of alcohol and controlled snbstance testing to identify individuals using drugs and alcohol within the preemployment or postoffer stage of the employment process. Most safety and loss prevention professionals have found that this type of testing has provided a redaction in their incidents of work-related injuries and illnesses. 

Within the safety and health realm, the vision for the safety and health program is often tied to creating and maintaining a safe and healthful work environment and/or reducing work-related injuries or illnesses. Safety and health professionals should provide the time and effort necessary to develop, establish, and integrate your safety and health vision into the company s or organization s vision that provides employees, contractors, and all others affiliated with your safety and health efforts a clear direction as to where your safety and health direction is focused. 

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) The FMLA impacts the safety and health function in the area of work-related injuries as well as injuries... 

If the employer has more than 10 employees, the employer must maintain records of all work-related injuries and illnesses, and the employees or their representative have the right to review those records. Some industries with very low injury rates (e.g., insurance and real estate offices) are exempt from recordkeeping. 

The occupational safety and health community uses various names to describe systematic approaches to reducing injuries and illnesses in the workplace. Consensus and international standards use the term Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems OSHA currently uses the term Injury and Illness Prevention Programs and others use Safety and Health Programs to describe these types of systems. Regardless of the title, they all systematically address workplace safety and health hazards on an ongoing basis to reduce the extent and severity of work-related injuries and illnesses. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2004. National Center for Health Statistics. Fast Stats A to Z. Work-Related Injury/Occupational Injury. http //www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/osh.htm (accessed November 23, 2004). 

A comprehensive set of regulations was needed to help reduce the incidence of work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. The OSHA Act of 1970 addressed this need with Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 1900 through 1910. The Act also established the OSHA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor, and is responsible for administering the OSHA Act. 

In general, virtually all workers compensations systems are fundamentally no-fault mechanisms through which employees who incur work-related injuries. 

Employee injuries or illnesses that arise out of and in the course of employment are usually considered compensable. These definition phrases have expanded such injuries and illnesses beyond the four corners of the workplace, to include work-related injuries and illnesses incurred on the highways, at various in- and out-of-town locations, and other such remote locales. These two concepts, arising out of the employment and in the course of the employment, are the basic burdens of proof for the injured employee. Most states require both. The safety and health professional is strongly advised to review the case law in his or her state to see the expansive scope of these two phrases. That is, the injury or illness must arise out of i.e., there must be a causal connection between the work and the injury or illness, and it must be in the course of the employment this relates to the time, place, and circumstances of the accident in relation to the employment (see selected case summary). The key issue is a work connection between the employment and the injury or illness. ... 

Most state workers compensation coverage provides a relatively long statute of limitations. For injury claims, most states grant between 1 and 10 years to file the claim for benefits. For work-related illnesses, the statute of limitations may be as high as 20 to 30 years from the time the employee first noticed the illness or the illness was diagnosed. An employee who incurred a work-related injury or illness is normally not required to be employed with the employer when the claim for benefits is filed. 

Workers compensation is for work-related injuries or illnesses only. 

The FMLA only provides leave for work-related injuries. 

Requiring the employer for a specified time period to submit to the Area Director its Log of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses on a quarterly basis, and to consent to OSHA conducting an inspection based on the information ... 

Spangenbergen, S., Baarts, C., Dyreborg, J., Jensen, L., Kines, P. and Mikkelsen, K.L. (2003) Factors contributing to the differences in work related injury rates between Danish and Swedish construction workers . Safety Science, 41 517-530. 

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