Workers' Compensation News

Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Among Workers Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments—United States, 2003

CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) collects data on nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), an emergency department (ED)-based surveillance system. This report summarizes data for 2003. The overall number and rate of occupational injuries and illnesses did not change substantially during the 5-year period since data were last reported in 1998.1 In 2003, age-, sex-, and diagnosis-related patterns of injury and illness among workers treated in EDs (ED-treated injuries/illnesses) were similar to those reported in 1998. To achieve substantial decreases in these injuries and illnesses, prevention efforts must focus on effective, targeted workplace-safety interventions for diverse occupations. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) administers NEISS, a national stratified probability sample of U.S. hospitals with 24-hour EDs that tracks product-related injuries/illnesses that are not work related. In addition, CPSC collaborates with CDC to collect data for two adjunct programs: the NIOSH work-related injuries/illnesses program (NEISS-Work)1-2 and the NEISS All-Injury Program (NEISS-AIP).3 NEISS-Work tracks nonfatal work-related injuries and illnesses by using the CPSC ED surveillance system.

These cases are in addition to the CPSC product-related cases, and the cases are mutually exclusive. NEISS-AIP collects data on all injuries, regardless of consumer-product involvement or work relatedness (i.e., it tracks all other types of injuries in addition). The case-capture criteria are similar but not identical for the two adjunct programs (e.g., NEISS-Work includes illnesses whereas NEISS-AIP does not). This report presents data solely from NEISS-Work, which tracks cases reported at 67* of the 101 hospitals in the CPSC NEISS sample. Work-related injuries/illnesses were identified from ED chart review. A case was defined as work related if the injury or illness was sustained by a civilian noninstitutionalized worker while working for pay or other compensation, working on a farm, or volunteering for an organization (e.g., volunteer fire department), without regard to self-employment and full- or part-time work.2 Common illnesses (e.g., colds or other viral infections) or revisits to the same ED for a previously treated injury or illness were excluded. Cases were assigned statistical weights based on a sampling frame of national hospital ED visits in 2002 (SMG Marketing Group, Chicago, Illinois). The weights were summed to provide national estimates of the number of work-related ED-treated injuries/illnesses. Rates for ED-treated injuries and illnesses were calculated using 2003 Current Population Survey (CPS) employment estimates of full-time equivalent (FTE) workers on the basis of total hours worked (i.e., one FTE = 2,000 hours worked per year and includes hours for all jobs worked by a person).

4 CPS is a monthly household survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population aged 15 years that includes wage and salary workers, self-employed workers, part-time workers, and unpaid workers in family-operated enterprises; volunteers for organizations are excluded.4 The rate numerator and denominator populations are the same except that the NEISS-Work injury/illness estimates include volunteers. National injury/illness estimates are reported for all ages; rates are reported for workers aged 15 years. For NEISS, the injury/illness disposition (i.e., treated and released versus treated and hospitalized) is an indicator of severity. In 2003, nearly 97% of injured/ill workers were treated and released. Approximately 2% (81,600 [CI = ±18,100]) of the ED-treated cases resulted in the worker being hospitalized or transferred to another hospital (e.g., a higher-level trauma center or burn hospital) in which the injured/ill worker was presumed to have been hospitalized. Among all hospitalized workers, fractures/dislocations were the most common diagnoses (35%). For patients requiring hospitalization, injury/illness rates were similar for males with increasing age, except for male workers aged 65 years. These oldest workers (6% of hospitalized males) had an apparent, although not statistically significant, hospitalization rate twice that of any younger male age group. Fractures were the predominant injury in hospitalized males aged 65 years (47%). The age-specific rates for ED-treated injuries/illnesses among females requiring hospitalization increased with age. Across age groups, males had hospitalization rates three to five times higher than females.

If you have suffered personal injuries or emotional distress due to the negligence of workers compensaton laws in New Orleans, contact our Workers Compensation lawyer now and obtain a free case evaluation.

	Did You Know?
	The Hazard Communication Standard provides workers exposed to hazardous chemicals with the right-to-know The Hazard Communication Standard provides workers exposed to hazardous chemicals with the right-to-know the identities and hazards of those materials, as well as appropriate protective measures. When workers have such information, they are able to take steps to protect themselves from experiencing adverse effects from exposure. In addition, providing such information to employers helps them to design better protective programs for exposed employees.