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Job-related injuries and workers’ compensation—the more you know, the better

How many of you reading this have ever filed a workers’ compensation claim? How did that process go for you?

I ask because I am now involved in my first, and hopefully, my last. Mine is not a job commonly associated with injury, unless it’s carpal tunnel from constant typing. Mercifully, I’ve been spared that sort of injury. (Just asking for it by writing that sentence, I know.)

My “job-related” injury is a fluke, really. I hurt my knee stepping down from a FABTECH shuttle bus. I saw the doctor and was relieved to learn that my problem is strained ligaments that will heal with rest and time. It could have been so much worse.

My knowledge of the workers’ compensation process was nil. I depended on the company human resources director to enlighten me. She did an amazing job of taking care of my situation in a very short timeframe. I’m grateful.

Essentially, I had to provide details about my injury to HR, my immediate supervisor, and to Suzette, a representative of the firm our company uses for workers’ compensation. I also had to verify that my chosen doctor was in “the network.” Luckily, he was.

I was given a claim number, and I took the necessary information with me to my appointment. Just to be on the safe side, you might want to mention that you’re coming in for a work-related injury when you make the appointment. Although my physician is listed as a network provider, I was told by the person at checkout that he has a “new setup,” and she isn’t sure about the status of the practice and claims. (You know, it’s always something when it comes to health care and red tape.)

Out of curiosity, I decided to learn more about workers' compensation—what are the most common claims and where did my bizarre injury fit into the big scheme of things. Turns out, it wasn’t out of the norm at all.

According to The Travelers Companies’ review of more than 1.5 million workers compensation claims filed between 2010 and 2014, strains and sprains are the most common worker injury, making up 30 percent of total claims. (I guess you could say the material I was handling was my body—moving it from the bus to the ground.)

Rounding out the top five injuries as a percentage of total claims are:

  • Cuts or punctures (19 percent)
  • Contusions (12 percent)
  • Inflammation (5 percent)
  • Fractures (5 percent)

“By business size and industry, strains and sprains topped all lists for the most common type of injury except for small businesses, which experienced cuts or punctures most frequently, followed by strains and sprains. Eye injuries were among the most common injuries in both construction and manufacturing.

“The injuries with the highest average incurred costs included amputations, dislocations, electric shock, crushing and multiple trauma injuries, such as breaking multiple bones at once. These severe injuries have typically occurred less frequently overall.”

According to the review, the most frequent causes of workplace injuries include:

  • Material handling (32 percent of total claims)
  • Slips, trips and falls (16 percent)
  • Being struck by or colliding with an object (10 percent)
  • Accidents involving tools (7 percent)
  • Traumas occurring over time, for example when a part of the body is injured by overuse or strain (4 percent).

An analysis of the claim data revealed that certain causes of accidents and injuries occurred more often in some industries than others:

  • While material handling accidents were the top cause of injuries overall, these were especially common in the manufacturing and retail industries, causing nearly 40 percent of injuries in both sectors.
  • Falling from height was among the top causes of injuries in both the construction and retail industries.
  • The oil and gas industry was the only segment in which motor vehicle accidents were one of the most frequent causes of injury.
  • Eye injuries were one of the most frequent types of injuries in manufacturing and construction.

The specific cause of my injury was the bus driver not pulling up all the way to the curb. This meant a steep step down to the ground. I stepped down with my right leg, and my left that remained on the step was bent at a really sharp angle. I heard a pop and saw stars. This occurred on day 1 of FABTECH. The same, exact thing also occurred on day 3. The result? A severe and painful strain that occasionally caused my knee to “go out,” which led to me falling. Hopefully, the worst is over. And I’ve ever mindful of the fact that it could have been so much worse.