The Minnesota workers’ compensation system provides financial support to employees who suffer injuries or get sick while on the job. These workplace injuries and illnesses must be directly tied to the employee’s work and occur during the course of work. An injury can include a physical, mental or emotional injury, as well as occupational illnesses such as asthma or skin cancer. Here, we focus solely on the top physical injuries that arise out of the course of an employee’s work.

10 Most Disabling Workplace Injuries

According to the most recent statistics from the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, the following 10 workplace injuries accounted for more than 83% of total costs of workplace injuries in the U.S.

• Overexertion: The number one work-related injury stems from overexertion when pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying or throwing. In total, overexertion injuries accounts for more than one quarter of all costs associated with workplace injuries.
• Falls from the same level: A fall can cause severe or lifelong injuries, making this category the second-most expensive workplace injury in the U.S.
• Struck by equipment: Being struck by work equipment or objects in the workplace is more common than you think, especially in the construction industry.
• Falls from heights: Falls from heights to lower levels comes in fourth, and can occur when falling from scaffolding, stairs and other elevations.
• Other exertions: Rounding out the top 5 workplace injuries in the U.S. are other exertions and bodily reactions, which include movements such as bending, crawling, stepping, kneeling, standing or walking.
• Auto accidents: While workplace accidents that occur on roadways, including highways and streets, have lowered as of late, they still account for a little more than 5% of total injury costs.
• Slips or trips: Slips or trips—without falls—can lead to numerous injuries that can impede an individual from performing his or her daily work duties.
• Caught in equipment: Getting caught in equipment includes having at least some part of a person’s body squeezed, pinched, crushed or compressed while operating equipment or getting caught in between two pieces of equipment.
• Repetitive motion injuries: From carpal tunnel syndrome to tendinitis, repetitive stress traumas are some of the most preventable injuries in the workplace. These injuries arise over time, and often go undetected and undiagnosed.
• Struck against equipment: Bumping into, stepping on or kicking a piece of equipment all fall under this broad category. The key here is that the person is the one who exerted the energy that caused the forcible contact with the equipment, instead of the equipment moving in such a way that causes the contact.

Were You Denied Work Comp Benefits?

What qualifies as a work-related injury or illness is not always clear. That is where the help of an experienced workplace injuries attorney comes in. He can assess your situation and help you understand if you should have qualified for workers’ comp benefits.

Sources: 2014 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety (2014)
Photo credit:  The Pipe by Ken Walton, some rights reserved