There’s good news for workers in California: Serious illnesses and injuries on the job declined last year, hitting the lowest rate in at least a decade. For every 100 full-time workers in the state, there were a total of 3.7 cases of some occupational injury or illness. Overall, there were 466,600 such cases reported in California in 2016—slightly better than 2015 but not a recent record. On average, about 2.2 employees per 100 had to take time away from work because of an injury.
Different Risks
Despite the good news for the overall average, many kinds of jobs are much less safe than others. Those in some office occupations, as you might expect, are at the lowest risk: architects and engineers, financial services workers, and those in legal, computer, and mathematics jobs.
On the opposite end of the scale, workers in construction, maintenance and repair, and building and grounds cleaning work had the highest rates, approaching three times the average. For every 10,000 workers in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, more than 284 incidents led to lost work (compared to only about five for computer workers). The statewide average for all occupations was 103.
Same Old, Same Old
This year’s report, issued by the California Department of Industrial Relations largely using data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that both the types of injury and their causes have remained much the same in the years they’ve been issuing this report.
Overexertion was the main cause of injury, followed by contact with an object and then falls, trips, and slips. Combined, these three categories were responsible for the vast majority of injuries. Exposure to harmful substances, transportation accidents, and violence accounted for nearly all the rest.
Most of the injuries were sprains, strains, and tears, which made up a bit more than a third of recorded injuries. But the types of injuries workers fell victim to were varied: cuts, punctures, bruises, burns, broken bones, and even amputations made the list.
Orange County Construction Accident Lawyer
Close to half a million California workers were injured on the job in 2016, but some groups of workers fared even worse. Last year’s data aren’t available, but in 2015, 388 men and women were killed while on the job here.
Most work accidents are preventable, and while most injuries are minor, some can leave a worker with lifelong effects. That’s why, when you’re injured on the job, it’s important to talk with an experienced personal injury firm like the team at Kohan & Bablove, Injury Attorneys. We have an in-depth understanding of workplace injury law, including construction accidents and many other on-the-job injuries.
Call us at 949.535.1341 or fill out the form at the bottom of this page today to schedule a free consultation.
