Following a March 2003 announcement on the number of workplace injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2001, the Florida Department of Financial Services released additional statistics this week which further describe those injuries and illnesses.
According to a joint federal and state survey, the number of lost workday injury and illness cases reported by Florida employers reportedly decreased by 3 percent after two years of steady increases.
Consistent with findings in previous years, most injuries and illnesses involved sprains and strains, though the number of sprains and strains decreased in 2001 by 2,026 (6 percent). Also significant were cases involving bruises and contusions, which fell by 26 percent.
Leading causes of on-the-job injuries and illnesses among workers in Florida were bodily reaction and exertion, and contact with objects and equipment. Within these broad categories, the events leading to the greatest number of work injuries and illnesses were overexertion and being struck by objects, respectively. This pattern was also true for Florida in 2000.
Although injuries and illnesses to workers aged 55 to 64 and 65 and over increased between 2000 and 2001, these workers accounted for only 12 percent of all injured workers. All other age groups showed decreases in incidents from 2000 to 2001.
These statistics are part of the annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers’ Compensation. The survey reports the number and incidence rates of disabling injuries and illnesses resulting in lost work time with four primary case characteristics: the nature of those conditions, part of the body affected, the source producing the condition, the way the condition occurred.
The survey also considers the occupation and other demographics of workers disabled and the median number of days away from work used to recuperate from these injuries and illnesses.
The full set of statistics is available on the department’s Web site at www.fldfs.com. From the drop down menu, click “Statistics Regarding Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.”
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