labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Nationwide and in New Hampshire, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is looking into millions of injuries every year.

New Hampshire worker safety numbers are also staggering. In 2005 alone, 503,530 workers suffered what are called sprains, strains, or tears, while some 270,890 suffered painful back injuries. And 255,750 employees fell in the workplace.

Education is the key to developing a solid workplace safety plan. And a workplace safety plan can be a matter of life and death.

Here are some of the startling numbers for 2005, the last year for which statistics are available:

• 4,214,200 on-the-job accidents occurred.
• 5,702 workers died in workplace accidents.
• 1,234,700 workdays were lost as a result of accidents at work.

The numbers show that the results are often lost work time, lost pay, high-cost medical care, and lawsuits.

But the figures are just part of the picture. They represent only work in the private sector. Not included are non-profit jobs. Neither do they reflect public service positions, such as paramedical service, police work, and firefighting.

The figures also offer a surprising statistic about a category of accident that is usually seen as annoying at worst. Slips, trips, and falls are the second most frequent causes of death on the job after driving. Work related driving, statistics show, killed 1,258 employees in 2005. By comparison, slips, trips and falls resulted in 732 deaths – more than half the rate of driving-related fatalities.

According to OSHA, education is the key to slowing the rate of injuries and deaths at work. A solid safety program in the workplace offers reminders to employees about the importance of safety. It shows them how to use appropriate safety methods.

Employers interested in promoting on-the-job safety might consider an education program in the workplace. The OSHA Workplace Safety Pack is an easy-to-absorb set of guidelines to help workers avoid injuries. The package contains a Workstation Safety Tips poster, a Lifting Safely poster, a Slips, Trips and Falls poster, and Workplace Ergonomics.

Last 10 posts by Amelia

• COBRA Subsidy Extended Again - March 5th, 2010
• New York Uniform, Meals and Lodging Rules - February 10th, 2010
• New York Non-Exempt Employee Rules - February 3rd, 2010
• New York Tipped Minimum Wage is $4.75 - January 27th, 2010
• Oklahoma Direct Deposit - January 20th, 2010
• 2010 Minimum Wage Recap - January 1st, 2010
• Vermont Minimum Wage 2010 is $8.06 - December 30th, 2009
• New GINA Regulations - December 23rd, 2009
• Kansas 2010 Minimum Wage Increases to $7.25 - December 9th, 2009
• 2010 Washington Minimum Wage is $8.55 - December 2nd, 2009