occupational injury

occupational injury, any health problem or bodily damage resulting directly from activities undertaken at the workplace. The occupations which most clearly and often startlingly suffer from high incidence of occupational injuries include military service, construction, nursing, mining, fishing, logging, truck driving, and law enforcement.

In the past, such an injury would be regarded as an Act of God, and, consequently, the afflicted would have no call on resources or compensation to make up for loss of good health and livelihood. In more recent times, the organization of labour around the world has led to the creation of compensation schemes for workers suffering permanent loss and social welfare schemes to assist workers with temporary illness and inability to work.

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Many developed countries offer schemes partly or wholly funded by the state to deal with these issues. In some instances, legislation has passed making it possible for the state to prosecute negligent employers for recovery of damages or else make provision for the affected to sue such people on a civil basis. In addition, as certain employees in highly skilled areas may face certain risks, then insurance schemes may be taken out to ensure that such injuries do not cause financial loss to employers as well as to the employees themselves. Such schemes are increasingly common among highly paid and vulnerable workers such as high-ranking athletes, who may also wish to take out insurance on their own behalf.

A 2005 survey conducted in the United States revealed that occupational injuries occurred at the rate of 4.6 cases per 100 full-time working equivalents in the private sector. The proportion was higher for goods-producing industries (6.2 cases per 100) than for service-producing industries (4.1 cases per 100), although in both cases small but measurable decreases were noted from the previous survey. These figures are much lower than in other countries with lower occupational health standards or where employees work with equipment or machinery that would be considered obsolete in the developed world.

Just as in the United States, those workers operating heavy machinery or transportation vehicles or employed in dangerous environments (e.g. underground, at sea, or in an environment with hazardous materials present) face higher risks than those in clerical or managerial positions. Not only is the incidence of occupational injury or disease higher in those cases but also the severity of the health problems may be heightened.

In the international context, countries that are members of the International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations are obliged to follow the provisions of the Convention No. 121: “Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964.” This convention specifies the obligations of member governments in aiming to minimize the occurrence of occupational injuries and their requirements in compensating those who may suffer from them.

Attempts are made to identify those cases in which particular risks may be tolerated and when the state concerned might be excused from abiding by the requirements. However, the expectation is that states will realize the benefits in society as a whole in both monitoring possible risks to occupational health and to encourage the highest possible standards of safety.

As workplace activities tend to change, new forms of injury and disease emerge and require greater attention. For example, the many hundreds of thousands of people whose jobs involve working intensively with a keyboard and computer may suffer from repetitive strain injury (RSI) or else from back problems related to working posture. The science of ergonomics has continued to gain in importance in identifying situations in which problems might occur and suggesting solutions to them.

The nature of occupational injury has of course changed over time. Previously, workers were expected to handle materials such as lead and asbestos, which would now be considered unacceptable without proper protective gear and procedures. Improvements in technology in industries such as fishing have also led to a reduction in the number of injuries and deaths in those sectors, although these continue to be risky areas, especially when employers have powerful cost-based incentives to reduce safety and training standards without any effective or likely sanction.

Societal change also has an impact, as it is no longer common for workers to expect to smoke cigarettes or be under the influence of alcohol or intoxicants in the workplace as it once was and no longer considered acceptable. Employees also have an obligation to ensure that they participate in appropriate training programs, wear safety equipment, and follow procedures that promote injury avoidance.