Occupational injury is the personal injury, illness or death of an employee in the workplace. It was the result of an accident at work. Just put; it was an accident at work or due to work.
Occupational accidents are not the same as occupational diseases. Occupational diseases caused by exposure to work-related risk factors over time.
The most common injuries involve workers’ hands, head, lungs, eyes and bones. Spinal and skin injuries are also common.
The OECD has the following definition of the term:
“A work-related accident is any bodily injury, illness or death resulting from a work-related accident; Therefore, occupational injury is different from occupational disease, which is acquired after prolonged exposure to risk factors due to occupational activities.
Some people confuse the terms occupational disease and occupational accident because the two terms often appear together. Occupational illness occurs during a specific period or series of repetitive actions while occupational injury is the result of a specific incident.
Occupational accidents and occupational risks
Injuries can result from exposure to chemical, biological, psychosocial, and physical hazards. In other words, an occupational accident.
For example, exposure to noise, animal or insect bites, heat and aerosols are occupational hazards. Exposure to blood-borne pathogens, toxic chemicals, exhaustion, and radiation also falls into this category.
Causes and rates of occupational accidents
Occupational accidents today are much less than in the past. Although safety measures are now more widely available, injuries can still occur due to manual handling, poor ergonomics, and general hazard exposure. Error or misuse of equipment and poor safety training are also common causes.
Trips, falls and slips are the most common causes of injury. The most common contributing factor to occupational injury is age.
Wikipedia quotes a study that estimates that there are about 350,000 workplace deaths worldwide each year. The same researchers also estimate that there are more than 270 million workplace accidents each year. Globally, forestry, fishing and agriculture have the highest number of recorded occupational injuries in the world. In advanced economies, manufacturing and construction account for the highest number of injuries to the wrist, hand and spine. The term “advanced economy” means “developed country”, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan.
USA
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 2.8 non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses were reported in 2017 by private sector employers. This number is 45,800 lower than 2016.
UK
The UK’s Health and Safety Executive reported that in 2017/18 there were 555,000 injuries in the workplace. Occupational accidents and occupational diseases cost 30.7 million working days.
