Top Ten: Workplace injuries

Workplace injuries cause pain in more than one way. There is the physical pain, of course, as well as the financial pain suffered when you have to miss work and paychecks.

A recently released Workplace Safety Index lists the top 10 work-related injuries. The list will hopefully give employees and employers alike reason to think about how these kinds of on-the-job mishaps can be avoided.

The index is put together every year by an insurance company that compiles data from the federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

So what is the number one cause of work-related injuries? Overexertion. It accounts for a whopping 23 percent of on-the-job injuries. It is followed by falls on the same level (17.7 percent) and falls to a lower level (9.2 percent). As you can see, the top three account for almost exactly half of all workplace injuries: 49.9 percent.

According to the insurer, the top 10 causes of workplace accidents and injuries remain the same this year as last year.

Here’s the rest of the 10 in order:

• 4. Struck by object or equipment
• 5. Other exertions or bodily reactions
• 6. Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles
• 7. Slip or trip without a fall
• 8. Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects
• 9. Struck against object or equipment
• 10. Repetitive motion

When one of these accidents happens and results in injuries, you need your workers’ compensation benefits to pay for medical expenses and replace a portion of your wages. If your workers’ comp claim is denied, speak with an experienced Charlotte work injury attorney who can help you fight for maximum compensation.