NIOSH Program Portfolio

Traumatic Injury

Inputs: Occupational Safety and Health Risks

On average, nearly 16 workers in the United States die each day from injuries sustained at work.¹ Daily, an estimated 11,200 private-sector workers have a nonfatal work-related injury or illness, and more than half will require job transfer, work restrictions, or time away from their jobs as a result.² Approximately 9,000 workers are treated in emergency departments each day, and approximately 200 of these workers are hospitalized.³ In 2005, workers' compensation costs for employers totaled $89 billion.⁴

Fatalities

The number of fatal occupational injuries in 2006 (5,703) was similar to the annual average for 2001 –2005 (5,704).¹ Ninety-three percent (5,275) of the fatalities were incurred by men.¹ The leading fatal injury event continued to be transportation-related incidents (43% or 2,451), of which 57% (1,394) were highway-related events.¹ By industry sector, construction accounted for the most fatal injuries (21% or 1,226).¹

Nonfatal Injuries

Using data collected from emergency department medical records, it has been estimated that there were 3.4 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in 2004 occurring at a rate of 2.5 per 100 full-time equivalent workers.³ It is estimated that 95% of this combined injury and illness number represents injuries.³ The numbers and rates of emergency department treated injuries have declined substantially between 1996 and 2004.³ Collecting data from private industry workplaces, BLS has estimated that there were 3.9 million nonfatal occupational injuries in 2006 occurring at a rate of 4.2 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers.² Of these injuries, 32% were attributed to goods producing industries and 68% were attributed to service providing industries. The top three industries in the nonfatal injury distribution were manufacturing (21%), health care and social assistance (16%), and retail trade (15%).

NIOSH Worker Health Chartbook, 2004
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2004-146
The NIOSH Worker Health Chartbook, 2004 is a descriptive epidemiologic reference on occupational morbidity and mortality in the United States. A resource for agencies, organizations, employers, researchers, workers, and others who need to know about occupational injuries and illnesses, the Chartbook includes more than 400 figures and tables describing the magnitude, distribution, and trends of the Nation's occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Below are links for select figures and tables related to fatal and nonfatal traumatic injuries:

• Figure 1-9: Numbers and rates of fatal occupational injuries, 1992–2002.
  
• Figure 1-10: Fatal occupational injury rates by State, 2002.
  
• Figure 1-14: Number and rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in private industry by industry, 2001.
  
• Figure 1-41: Distribution of occupational injury and illness cases with days away from work in private industry by event or exposure, 2001.
  
• Figure 2-15: Numbers and rates of traumatic occupational fatalities, 1980–2000.
  
• Figure 2-16: Numbers and rates of fatal occupational injuries, 1992–2002.
  
• Figure 2-74: Incidence rate of total nonfatal occupational injury cases by private industry sector, 2001.

References

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1. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National census of fatal occupational injuries in 2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor; 2007.
   External link: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm
   
2. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workplace injuries and illnesses in 2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor; 2005.
   External link: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm
   
3. Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses—United States, 2004.
   MMWR 2007; 56:393–7.
   
4. Workers' compensation: Benefits, coverage, and costs, 2005. Washington, DC: National Academy of Social Insurance; 2007.
   PDF Only 725KB (94 pages)
   External link: http://www.nasi.org/usr_doc/nasi_workers_comp_2005_full_report.pdf
   

NIOSH Program Portfolio:

Traumatic Injury

Program Description
Inputs
• Economic Factors
• Occupational Risks
• National Research Agenda (NORA)
• NIOSH Strategic Goals
• Emerging Issues
• Partners
• NIOSH Contacts
Activities
• NIOSH Research Projects
• NIOSH Funded Research Grants
Outputs
• Publications
• Topic Pages
• Research to Practice
• Conferences
Outcomes
Review & Evaluation
• Program Review
• National Academies Evaluation