Ohio Statistics Detailing Non-Fatal Work Injuries Available Online

Employers can now find state and national data about non-fatal workplace injuries on the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) website.

The data, compiled as part of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2012 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), shows non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses in Ohio are lower than the national average.

“Although one injury is too many, we are very encouraged by the fact that Ohio’s injury rates are relatively lower than our neighboring states and we believe our emphasis on preventing occupational injuries will continue to pay dividends,” said BWC Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer. “I encourage employers to review the data to better understand where injuries and illnesses are occurring in their industries and make changes to ensure their workers do not become a part of these statistics in the future.”

Each year, the BLS will select a representative sample consisting of more than 4,000 private and public employers in Ohio to participate in the survey. BWC will work with these selected employers in completing the survey and collecting the data. The 2012 results now available on BWC’s website show Ohio had 3.2 recordable injuries and/or illnesses per 100 full-time workers, lower than the national average of 3.7.

The survey estimates a total of 129,200 recordable cases of non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses took place in Ohio in 2012. About 28 percent of the cases involved one or more days off of work; about 18 percent involved one or more days working in job restriction/transfer; and the remaining 53 percent were recordable cases without time off of work.

Transportation and warehousing had the most non-fatal injury and illness incidents in private industry. Other industries with high incident rates were healthcare and social assistance, manufacturing, retail trade and construction.

For injuries with more than one day away from work:

• More men than women experienced a non-fatal injury or illness that caused them to miss more than one day of work.
• More cases occurred in the age group of 35-44 years old.
• The back was injured more than any other part of the body, followed by injuries to the hands and knees.
• Falls on the same level and overexertion in lifting were the most common events where an injury took place.

Statistics for the public industry sector include local government only and show workers in utilities had higher incident rates of occupational injuries than any other public sector industry. That was followed by transportation and warehousing, healthcare and social assistance and public administration.

For injuries with more than one day away from work:

• There were more injuries among men than women.
• Relative to age, there were more injuries among the 35-44 age group compared to other age groups.
• Injuries to the back, knee and ankle were the top three among employees in the public sector.

Visit bwc.ohio.gov or call 614-995-8608 for more information about the statistics from the 2012 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses for the state of Ohio.

Source: Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation