By Person Injury Attorney Darryl B. Kogan of Kogan and DiSalvo. P.A
It is getting safer to go to work!
A study conducted by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has found that workplace injuries and illnesses are down by approximately two to three percent around the country. During the study, NCCI used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the frequency of injuries and illnesses sustained by full-time workers in the United States.
The study divided incidences of injuries and work-related sicknesses into categories of industry, gender and the age of workers. One of the most interesting results to come from the study showed that the age group that reduced the amount of work-related injuries were younger people aged 25 to 34.
While historically, this group has regularly seen the most amount of workplace injuries, the numbers dropped by almost 50 percent between 2006 and 2017. Within this group, the majority of injuries were from contact, which made up 32 percent of injuries, and overexertion, which constituted 35 percent of injuries for those under the age of 34.
“It is difficult to say why this younger group has seen such a drop in injuries,” says Darryl B. Kogan of Kogan and DiSalvo. P.A. “Regardless, it is certainly good news. It is even better that while this age group may have seen the largest reduction in workplace accidents, all age groups saw a drop, which means workplace accidents are being reduced nationwide.”
Overexertion, a main cause of workplace accidents, was also seen in workers aged 45 to 64. This group saw the most amount of overexertion injuries, however, they were also prone to slip and falls. For those in this older age group, slip and falls made up 44 percent of workers’ compensation claims.
Interestingly, while there still may be a nationwide wage gap between the sexes, it simply does not exist when it comes to workplace injuries. Incident rates among men fell to 95 per 100,000 for workers’ compensation claims in 2017 from 142 in 2006.
Women, on the other hand, did not see as big of a reduction, but they too, reduced workplace accidents from 106 per 100,000 in 2006 to just 82 in 2017.