These National Statistics May Provide Some Safety InsightEach year, the National Safety Council collects data and compiles a report on workplace injuries and
deaths. Here are some of the stats for the most common work-related injuries that caused the worker to
lose one or more days of work:
| 1. | Overexertion and bodily reaction: | 295,830 injuries |
| 2. | Contact with objects and equipment: | 229,170 injuries |
| 3. | Slips, trips, and falls: | 227,760 injuries |
| 4. | Transportation accidents: | 47,910 injuries |
| 5. | Workplace violence: | 39,750 injuries |
| 6. | Hazardous substances or environments: | 37,110 injuries |
| 7. | Non-classifiable hazards: | 3,730 injuries |
| 8. | Fires and explosions: | 1,470 injuries |
It's also interesting to compare the types of incidents that caused days off work to the types that caused
fatalities. For example, transportation accidents are in 4th place for days-off-work, but they're in 1st place
on the fatalities list. Here are the numbers for fatalities at work:
| 1. | Transportation accidents: | 2,077 deaths |
| 2. | Slips, trips, and falls: | 887 deaths |
| 3. | Workplace violence: | 807 deaths |
| 4. | Contact with objects and equipment: | 695 deaths |
| 5. | Hazardous substances or environments: | 531 deaths |
| 6. | Fires and explosions: | 123 deaths |
| 7. | Overexertion and bodily reaction: | 16 deaths |
| 8. | Non-classifiable hazards: | 11 deaths |
When you consider that there are millions of workers in the U.S., it's likely that your crew has not
experienced life-altering injuries or deaths. Nonetheless, these statistics may point you to areas where
your safety program can be improved, so you never do experience that life-altering accident.