A recent report from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses found that the workplace injury rate in Minnesota has fallen to an all-time low.
According to the survey, there were an estimated 3.3 OSHA-recordable non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE workers in Minnesota last year, which is lower than any mark since the survey began in 1973. The previous year, Minnesota had 3.4 OSHA-recordable non-fatal workplace injuries per 100 workers.
“In the past 15 years, Minnesota has seen a 40 percent decrease in its rate of work-related injuries and illnesses,” said Ken Peterson, Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) commissioner. “That’s a lot less hurt – physically, emotionally and financially – for Minnesota’s workers. Still, there is much to be done to ensure more Minnesotans go home safe and healthy each night.”
Minnesota Work Injuries
In order to gather data, the survey collected information from nearly 4,700 companies and establishments throughout the state. This allowed them to determine that there were an estimated 72,500 work injuries and illnesses in Minnesota last year, down from 73,600 in 2016.
So while Minnesota is trending in the right direction on a local level, we still have some work to do compared to the national average. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that there were 3,475,900 nonfatal workplace injuries on a national scale in 2017, which comes out to a rate of 3.1 injuries per 100 full-time equivalent workers. This means our local workplace rate of injury and illness is above the national level.
The review also takes a closer look at the types of injuries and what industries have the highest rates of injury. Here are more findings from the survey.
- Construction was the industry with the highest rate of injury at 5.0 cases per 100 workers, followed by local government (4.8) and healthcare (4.7).
- About one in three workers who suffered an injury missed at least one day of work with the injury or illness.
- Of those who missed days of work, the average number of days missed as a result of an injury or illness was six days, up from five days the year before.
- The most common cause of workplace injury in Minnesota was sprain, strain or tear, accounting for 36 percent of injuries.
- The back was the most commonly injured parent of the body (19 percent), followed by the hands (11 percent) and head (10 percent).
- The most common incident that led to an injury were falls on the same level (15 percent), being struck by objects or equipment (13 percent) or overexertion while lifting (11 percent).
This is great news, even if it means that there’s potentially fewer clients walking in our office. Let’s keep working towards zero injuries in Minnesota workplaces, and if you need help with your injury case, reach out to Margolis Law Firm today.
