What types of injuries lead to time away from work?

On Behalf of | Jul 6, 2021 | Workplace Injuries |

No matter their occupation, people in the greater Chicago area expose themselves to a number of dangers at their workplaces.

There is historically a lot of attention devoted to catastrophic and deadly workplace injuries, and rightly so.

However, most people who have to go through Illinois’s workers’ compensation system will have suffered other serious injuries. Although not permanently debilitating, these injuries still can lead to costly medical expenses and time away from work.

Overexertion is the leading cause of nonfatal injuries

For example, overexertion accounts for 31% of all injuries which are not deadly but which lead to time lost at work. This makes overexertion the leading cause of non-fatal injuries.

Overexertion is usually associated with repetitive motion injuries and injuries related to lifting or trying to move heavy or awkward objects. Oftentimes, overexertion causes a victim back problems.

On average, overexertion leads to a little less than 2 weeks of lost work time. It usually affects people who work in the transportation industry or agriculture.

Tripping or falling accounts for over 27% of all significant work-related accidents and often involves older workers. Those who work in transportation or warehousing are especially prone to these types of injuries.

Like overexertion, it often takes about 2 weeks for a worker to recover from an injury related to a fall, as falls can easily cause significant soft tissue injuries.

Younger workers frequently get hurt by coming into contact with heavy or dangerous tools or equipment. Contract with tools and equipment accounts for almost 26% of non-fatal injuries which lead to lost work time. Typically, a worker who suffers this type of injury will be out of commission for around a week.

Workers who suffer these common injuries should not be tempted, or pressured, to write it off as no big deal. They may have the right to get full compensation for their losses through the state’s workers’ compensation program.

 

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