Factors associated with occupational injury severity in the New South Wales underground coal mining industry

The relationship between a large number of mine and mine worker characteristics and injury severity was examined using multiple regression techniques. The study was based on data extracted from the New South Wales (N.S.W.) Joint Coal Board's computer based accident/incident reporting system describing 21,372 non-fatal, lost-time injurious incidents that occurred in the N.S.W. underground coal mining industry during the 4 year period from 1 July 1986 to 30 June 1990. The number of days lost as a result of an injurious incident was the best available proxy measure of injury severity. Over the study period, the number of days lost per 100,000 tonnes of raw coal production declined by 73%. Over the same period, injurious incidents involving more than 20 days off work, which constituted only 16% of all injurious incidents in underground mines, resulted in 75% of the total days lost for the whole N.S.W. underground coal mining industry. Factors that had practical importance and that were significantly associated with injury severity included mine worker's age, part of the body injured, type of accident, agency of accident, and mine worker activity. Factors not important or not significant in their relationship with injury severity were: time into shift, previous hours worked, mine location of incident, occupation, work experience, frequency of task, shift, and mining region. This study suggests that factors related to the susceptibility of a mine worker's body tissue to damage or repair, and factors related to the concentration of energy on the mine worker by vehicle and environmental characteristics are important determinants of injury severity.     

Self-reported incidents,accidents, and use of protective gear among small-scale forestry workers in Sweden

Self-reported data were collected from 156 self-employed small-scale forestry workers regarding their work, including use of safety gear and number and type of incidents and accidents. About 40% of the respondents reported that during the previous 24 months they had some kind of work-related accident where an injury occurred, and/or experienced in incident, a close call that could have resulted in an injury. Of those injured or involved in an accident, 50% reported that at the time of the accident or incident they were not fully using their safety gear. Sixty-seven percent of the accident victims reported seeking medical attention for their injuries. No significant relationships were found between production level, age, use of safety gear or sensation seeking tendencies and the reports of accidents and incidents. Accidents and incidents were most likely to occur during felling, thinning and transportation activities and were usually caused by unforeseen interactions with falling trees/branches or equipment. Compared to earlier surveys of Swedish small-scale forestry workers, consistent use of all required safety gear was down by 10% to 50%. Protective pants and gloves were the items least likely to be used while ear, eye and foot protection were most likely to be used. The results indicate that better planning during felling processes may be the key to reducing the number of accidents for this population.     

Work-related injuries among commercial janitors in Washington State,comparisons by gender

IntroductionWe analyzed workers' compensation (WC) data to identify characteristics related to workers' compensation claim outcomes among janitorial service workers in Washington State.MethodWe analyzed WC data from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) State Fund (SF) from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2013, for janitorial service workers employed in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Services Sector. We constructed multivariable models to identify factors associated with higher medical costs and increased time lost from work.ResultsThere were 2,390 janitorial service compensable claims available for analysis. There were significant differences in injury type and other factors by gender, age, and language preference. Linguistic minority status was associated with longer time loss and higher median medical costs. Women were estimated to account for 35% of janitorial service workers but made up 55% of the compensable claims in this study.ConclusionsJanitorial service workers comprise a large vulnerable occupational group in the U.S. workforce. Identifying differences by injury type and potential inequitable outcomes by gender and language is important to ensuring equal treatment in the workers' compensation process.Practical applicationsThere were significant differences in injury and individual characteristics between men and women in this study. Women had twice the estimated rate of injury to men, and were more likely to require Spanish language materials. Improving communication for training and knowledge about the workers' compensation system appear to be high priorities in this population of injured janitorial service workers.     

Reporting occupational injuries: The first step

Attempts to evaluate occupational injury surveillance systems have centered on employer compliance. Surveillance systems also rely on employees reporting injuries, and the reliability of such reporting is unknown. In this study of hospital environmental service workers, 29.2% (108 of 372) recalled having been injured in the previous year, and of these, 38.9% (42 of 108) had not reported one or more injuries. Among those injured, older workers (mean age 40.6 years vs. 36.2 years; p = 0.024) and those having worked longer at the same job (mean duration 6.7 years vs. 4.3 years; p = 0.032) were more likely to not report an injury. The most frequently cited reason for not reporting was that the injury had seemed too minor, though 64.4% of unreported injuries required medical care and 44.1% resulted in lost work time.     

Causal attributions of Ghanaian industrial workers for accident occurrence: miners and non-miners perspective

Problem: Reports from the accident literature indicate that accident rates tend to vary with type of occupation. The mining industry has been recorded as the most dangerous with a high disabling injury rate. This observation has been attributed to the extremely stressful conditions under which miners work. Besides, the intimidating work environment in the mines has been insinuated to invoke a sense of helplessness, fatalism and hence defensive causal attributions for accident occurrences. Method: This study compared causal attributions between accident victims in Ghana's mining industry with their counterparts in textile factories. T values and Chi-square were employed to test for statistically significant differences between the two groups of accident victims. Results: Findings indicate that there is no difference between the causal attributions for miners and non-miners. Impact on Industry: Accident frequency and occupational type have no impact on causal attributions.     

The role of behavioral factors on safety management in underground mines

Traditional approaches on the prevention of accidents/injuries in mines reached its limit of effectiveness in improving safety performance and a fresh approach is utmost required. Behavioral safety analysis has been identified as an effective alternative in many industries. This paper is therefore sought to examine the role of behavioral factors on the occurrence of mine accidents and injuries through a case study. Data were collected from two neighboring underground coalmines operating under a large public sector organization of India. High–low plots and t-test were done to explore the differences between behavioral characteristics of accident involved (case) and non-involved (control) workers. How these differences could cause accidents/injuries in mines was estimated through structural equation modeling. The case study results show that accident group of workers (cases) are more job dissatisfied, negatively affected, and highly risk taking compared to the non-accident group of workers (controls). The accident model path analysis shows that negative affectivity, job dissatisfaction, and risk taking behaviors predict an increased number of injuries in mines. Apart from direct influences to work injuries, negative affectivity and job dissatisfaction make workers to take more risks and behave unsafely. These findings contribute to the design of safety programs including safety training, which should be behaviorally motivated. Mine safety management of the case study mines should outskirt their age old belief that accidents/injuries are due to hazardous nature of mining and only engineering control and regulatory monitoring are sufficient for improving safety of the mines. The multivariate analysis also shows that experience bears no relationships with work injury indicating that a less experienced worker is equally likely to be injured as an experienced worker. It implies that experience though helps workers in understanding the physical hazards, however, avoiding the imminent danger is much more behavioral. The variables negative affectivity, job dissatisfaction, and risk taking behaviors are therefore crucial in avoiding accident/injuries in mines.     

Characteristics of worker accidents on NYSDOT construction projects

INTRODUCTION: This paper aims at providing cost-effective safety measures to protect construction workers in highway work zones, based on real data. Two types of accidents that occur in work zones were: (a) construction work area accidents, and (b) traffic accidents involving construction worker(s). METHODOLOGY/RESULTS: A detailed analysis of work zone accidents involving 36 fatalities and 3,055 severe injuries to construction workers on New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) construction projects from 1990 to 2001 established that five accident types: (a) Struck/Pinned by Large Equipment, (b) Trip or Fall (elevated), (c) Contact w/Electrical or Gas Utility, (d) Struck-by Moving/Falling Load, and (e) Crane/Lift Device Failure accounted for nearly 96% of the fatal accidents, nearly 63% of the hospital-level injury accidents, and nearly 91% of the total costs. These construction work area accidents had a total cost of $133.8 million. Traffic accidents that involve contractors' employees were also examined. Statistical analyses of the traffic accidents established that five traffic accident types: (a) Work Space Intrusion, (b) Worker Struck-by Vehicle Inside Work Space, (c) Flagger Struck-by Vehicle, (d) Worker Struck-by Vehicle Entering/Exiting Work Space, and (e) Construction Equipment Struck-by Vehicle Inside Work Space accounted for nearly 86% of the fatal, nearly 70% of the hospital-level injury and minor injury traffic accidents, and $45.4 million (79.4%) of the total traffic accident costs. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this paper provide real statistics on construction worker related accidents reported on construction work zones. Potential preventions based on real statistics have also been suggested. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The ranking of accident types, both within the work area as well as in traffic, will guide the heavy highway contractor and owner agencies in identifying the most cost effective safety preventions.     

A qualitative investigation of factors affecting school district administrators’ decision to adopt a national young worker curriculum

Introduction: Even though the majority of youth in the U.S. work, and workers under the age of 18 are seriously injured on the job at higher rates when compared to adults, most adolescents lack instruction on workplace safety and health. Method: This qualitative study examines the extent to which selected U.S. school districts provide workplace safety and health instruction to students and explores the factors that influence districts’ decision to adopt a free, foundational occupational safety and health (OSH) curriculum. Results: Results from key informant interviews conducted with a purposive sample of 34 school administrators revealed that only a third of the districts have at least 75% of their students receive some instruction on workplace safety and health, while 15% indicated they provide no instruction on this topic. District staff who indicated that they provide OSH instruction stated that it is most often taught through career and technical education (CTE; 65%) and/or health classes (26%). They believed the benefits of providing this instruction include assisting students to get jobs (38%) and helping students learn about safety (32%), while competing demands (44%) and time constraints (41%) were identified as barriers to providing OSH education to students. Conclusions: Given the importance of work to teens and their increased risk of work injury, interested stakeholders—including parents, teachers, employers, and the public health community—should promote the inclusion of workplace safety and health instruction in U.S. secondary schools. Practical Applications: This research fills a gap in current knowledge about the extent to which OSH is currently taught within U.S. secondary schools, enumerates barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of workplace safety and health instruction in schools, presents a free, foundational curriculum in workplace safety and health, and provides directions for future research on the vital role schools can play in preparing the future workforce for safe and healthy employment.     

谈工伤职工的合法权益

就国家有关法律、劳动法规及劳动规章 ,阐述了工伤的保险待遇、工伤认定、工伤评残的合法权益及工伤保险待遇的请求与给付     

Occupational injury and psychological distress among U.S. workers: The National Health Interview Survey, 2004–2016

Introduction: Injuries at work may negatively influence mental health due to lost or reduced working hours and financial burden of treatment. Our objective was to investigate, in U.S. workers (a) the prevalence of serious psychological distress (SPD) by injury status (occupational, non-occupational, and no injury) and injury characteristics, and (b) the association between injury status and SPD. Methods: Self-reported injuries within the previous three months were collected annually for 225,331 U.S. workers in the National Health Interview Survey (2004–2016). Psychological distress during the past 30 days was assessed using the Kessler 6 (K6) questions with Likert-type scale (0–4, total score range: 0–24). SPD was defined as K6 ≥ 13. Prevalence ratios (PR) from fitted logistic regression models were used to assess relationships between injury and SPD after controlling for covariates. Results: The prevalence of SPD was 4.74%, 3.58%, and 1.56% in workers reporting occupational injury (OI), non-occupational injury (NOI), and no injury, respectively. Workers with head and neck injury had the highest prevalence of SPD (Prevalence: OI = 7.71%, NOI = 6.17%), followed by workers with scrape/bruise/burn/bite (6.32% for those with OI). Workers reporting OI were two times more likely to have SPD compared to those without injury (PR = 2.19, 95%CI: 1.62–2.96). However, there was no significant difference in SPD between workers with OI and workers with NOI (PR = 0.98, 95%CI: 0.65–1.48). Conclusion: The prevalence of SPD varied by injury status with the highest being among workers reporting OI. We found that the workers reporting OI were significantly more likely to have SPD than those without injury, but not more than those with NOI. Practical Applications: Mental health management programs by employers are necessary for workers who are injured in the workplace.     

The relationship of occupational injury and use of mental health care

Introduction: Symptoms of depression and anxiety are a common consequence of occupational injury regardless of its cause and type. Nevertheless, mental health care is rarely covered by workers’ compensation systems. The aim of this study was to assess the use of mental health care post-injury. Methods: We used a subsample of patient-care workers from the Boston Hospital Workers Health Study (BHWHS). We matched one injured worker with three uninjured workers during the period of 2012–2014 based on age and job title (nurse or patient-care associate) and looked at their mental health care use pre- and post-injury using medical claims data from the employer sponsored health plan. We used logistic regression analysis to assess the likelihood of mental health care use three and six months post-injury controlling for any pre-injury visits. Analyses were repeated separately by job title. Results: There were 556 injured workers between 2012 and 2014 that were matched with three uninjured workers at the time of injury (n = 1,649). Injured workers had a higher likelihood of seeking mental health care services than their uninjured counterparts during the six months after injury (OR = 1.646, 95% CI: 1.23–2.20), but not three months post-injury (OR = 0.825, 95% CI: 0.57–1.19). Patient-care associates had a higher likelihood to seek mental health care post-injury, than nurses (OR: 2.133 vs OR: 1.556) during the six months period. Conclusions: Injured workers have a higher likelihood to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety based on their use of mental health care post-injury and use is more predominant among patient-care associates; however, our sample has a small number of patient-care associates. Practical Applications: Treating depression and anxiety as part of the workers’ compensation system has the potential of preventing further physical ailment and improving the return to work process regardless of nature of injury.     

Age-related accident risks among assembly workers: A longitudinal study of male workers employed in the Swedish automobile industry

This study investigates whether there is evidence of age-related accident risks among male assembly workers in the Swedish automobile industry. Age-related accident ratios (ARs) were measured for all accidents aggregated and for six accident types over a 10-year period, using five age categories and three time intervals. The results showed that regardless of accident type, ARs were generally higher among younger workers than older ones, though not for all accident types and time periods. ARs by (open) age cohorts increased over time in four accident situations out of six for assemblers aged 25–34 (35–44 in 1990–1991). Inequalities in risk exposure, labor-market factors, and early deselection from the occupation are emphasized as significant external factors in the age-related differences observed in ARs.     

Anatomy of a domino accident: Roots,triggers and lessons learnt

On July 24th, 2010, several explosions and fires devastated a hydrocarbon processing plant in Kharg Island, Iran. Four workers were killed and many others were severely injured. The plant became out of service for 80 days. The way the accident happened and its sequence was representing as a domino accident. In this paper, events leading up to the disaster have been analyzed in details. Graphic presentation techniques such as Fish Bone Analysis and Event Sequence Diagram (ESD) have been utilized to enhance the understanding of the accident mechanism. Finally major lessons learnt from this domino accident have been addressed.     

Occupational electrical injuries in the United States, 1992-1998, and recommendations for safety research

PROBLEM: CFOI and SOII data show that 2,287 U.S. workers died and 32,807 workers sustained days away from work due to electrical shock or electrical burn injuries between 1992 and 1998. METHOD: The narrative, work activity, job title, source of injury, location, and industry for each fatal electrical accident were examined. A primary causal factor was identified for each fatality. RESULTS: Electrical fatalities were categorized into five major groups. Overall, 44% of electrical fatalities occurred in the construction industry. Contact with overhead power lines caused 41% of all electrical fatalities. DISCUSSION: Electrical shock caused 99% of fatal and 62% of nonfatal electrical accidents. Comprising about 7% of the U.S. workforce, construction workers sustain 44% of electrical fatalities. Power line contact by mobile equipment occurs in many industries and should be the subject of focused research. Other problem areas are identified and opportunities for research are proposed. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Improvements in electrical safety in one industry often have application in other industries.     

The impact of the economic crisis on occupational injuries

IntroductionThe potential influence of the current economic crisis on occupational accident rates and accident severity is studied in an analysis of all workplace accidents that occurred in Spain throughout the period 2000–2009.Method and resultsThe investigation confirms that occupational accidents in Spain are affected by the current economic crisis, which has provoked a sharp fall in both the number of accidents and the probability of having one. This may be justified by certain factors such as age, gender, length of service, size of the firm, and the employment stability of the injured worker. The influence of these factors is analyzed.Practical applicationsThe economic crises seems to provoke a sort of “natural selection” in the labor market and only the best adapted tend to remain (older workers, with more experience, a higher percentage of women, more workers in larger companies and permanent contracts), all of which means that the probability of workers having an injury is considerably reduced.     

Analysis of laboratory incident database

With the growth of academic institutions, the number of labs handling hazardous chemicals has increased. Although the chemicals used in academic institutions are well-known, the dosage, usage, and management of these chemicals pose significant threat to researchers at all levels. As a step towards incident prevention, a laboratory incident database was developed to record incidents at universities and secondary schools. The data consisted of 128 entries occurring during the years 2012–2015. Incidents were classified by institution type, hazard type, consequences, substance type, body parts injured and direct causes. Of 128 incidents, 65% of the incidents were taking place in universities. Chemical spills were observed to be the most recurrent hazard type contributing to 45% of the incidents following by explosions (23%) and fires (21%). The consequence which most frequently occurred in incidents was personal injury and hazmat response contributing to 22% each. It was observed that in 41% of the incidents, the body parts injured in the incident was not known or reported. Of the total 128 incidents, about 50 incidents occurred due to improper storage and handling.     

Temporary jobs and the severity of workplace accidents

Introduction. From the point of view of workplace safety, it is important to know whether having a temporary job has an effect on the severity of workplace accidents. We present an empirical analysis on the severity of workplace accidents by type of contract. Method. We used microdata collected by the Italian national institute managing the mandatory insurance against work related accidents. We estimated linear models for a measure of the severity of the workplace accident. We controlled for time-invariant fixed effects at worker and firm levels to disentangle the impact of the type of contract from the spurious one induced by unobservables at worker and firm levels. Results. Workers with a temporary contract, if subject to a workplace accident, were more likely to be confronted with severe injuries than permanent workers. When correcting the statistical analysis for injury under-reporting of temporary workers, we found that most of, but not all, the effect is driven by the under-reporting bias. Conclusions. The effect of temporary contracts on the injury severity survived the inclusion of worker and firm fixed effects and the correction for temporary workers' injury under-reporting. This, however, does not exclude the possibility that, within firms, the nature of the work may vary between different categories of workers. For example, temporary workers might be more likely to be assigned dangerous tasks because they might have less bargaining power. Practical implications. The findings will help in designing public policy effective in increasing temporary workers' safety at work and limiting their injury under-reporting.     

Small enterprise owners’ accident causation attribution and prevention

Small enterprises have difficulty in the systematic prevention of accidents. This study explores how owners of small enterprises attribute accident causation and what they learn about accident prevention after an accident. Interviews were carried out with owners of 22 small (1–19 employees) construction and metal industry enterprises that recently had reported an accident with an expected injury absence of over two weeks. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results reveal that after a relatively serious accident the owners predominantly attribute the incident to unforeseeable circumstances, and secondarily to worker faults. A possible explanation is both self- and group-defensive attributions in order to avoid responsibility and blame. The reciprocal and close social relations between owners and workers make it difficult for the owners to be solely responsible for the accident. The study presents a paradox: learning from the accidents seems to be negative as the owners need to abstain from accident prevention in order to maintain that accidents are unforeseeable, and the injured worker returns to work under the same unsafe conditions as before the accident. The study indicates that efforts to improve accident prevention in small enterprises need to find ways to avoid defensive attribution in order to attain successful outcomes.     

Attributes of Occupational Injury Among Workers in the Chemical Industry and Safety Issues

Case-study research was carried out with a view to find the attributes of occupational injury among workers in the chemical industry and to enhance safety issues. Injury data were collected and processed in terms of different variables, such as age, gender, skills, type of hazard, etc. Pareto analysis was then applied to find a pattern of occupational injury among the workers. The study revealed that 79.52% of the injured workers were in the 40–59 age group; 57.14% of accidents occurred during the 1st shift; 73.26% of accidents caused injury to hands, feet, chest to thigh, arms and eyes; and 70.93% of injuries were caused by pumps, carrying and lifting, vehicles, pipelines, valves, and grinding. Surprisingly, no one was injured in the group of temporary workers. The paper also provides specific suggestions followed by some action plans.