Not surprisingly, there are some industries that tend to involve a greater number of work-related injuries or illnesses than others. However, it is always a good idea to learn about your California workers’ compensation rights—no matter which line of work you are in.
A work injury or illness can happen at any time, so knowing your legal rights is crucial.
Workplace Injury Law Firm Kneisler and Schondel
If you have recently been injured at work, the California workers’ compensation legal team at Kneisler and Schondel can help you navigate the process of filing a claim for workers’ compensation.
Attorney Matthew Schondel has decades of experience helping injured workers pursue workers’ compensation benefits for a variety of different work-related injuries and illnesses. Contact our office today to learn more about what we can do to help you obtain workers’ compensation benefits.
Top Industries for Workplace Injuries in California
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tracks work-related injury and illness data for different industries all over the United States.
However, the data it has collected is limited to private sector establishments, so that factor may impact the results and conclusions drawn from these findings. Based on OSHA’s findings, the most common industries in which workplace injuries or illnesses occur are shown in further detail below.
Warehousing and Transportation
Another industry in which there was a high number of total work injuries or illnesses is the warehousing and transportation industry. In 2021, there was a total of 31,238 work-related injuries or illnesses that occurred in this industry. Broken down further, the injury incidence rate was 2.7 injuries for every 200,000 working hours.
Social Assistance and Health Care
The social assistance and health care industry also produced a high total of work-related injuries in 2021—with a total of 29,469 that year. However, these statistics also indicate that the injury incidence rate for every 200,000 working hours was just 0.7. The low injury incidence rate here implies that while there was a relatively high total number of injuries, the industry is less dangerous than implied, since these injuries occurred over many more working hours.
Retail Industry
While the retail industry may not be the first industry that comes to mind when someone is thinking about high instances of work-related injuries or illnesses, it is necessary to keep in mind that COVID-19 has impacted the retail industry significantly. In 2021, employees working in retail in the state of California suffered a total of 24,426 instances of work injuries or illnesses. The injury incidence rate was 5.5 injuries for every 200,000 hours worked that year, which is on the higher side of the other industries OSHA looked at.
Manufacturing Industry
Manufacturing is another industry in which there was a high number of total injuries recorded in the year 2021. In 2021, 19,632 work-related injuries or illnesses were reported. The injury incidence rate was calculated to be 1.8 injuries occurring for every 200,000 working hours.
Public Administration
Another industry with a total number of 2021 injuries that may seem higher than expected is the public administration industry. In 2021, employees in this industry suffered a total number of 10,545 injuries. The injury incidence rate for every 200,000 working hours is 1.2, which provides a better understanding of how often work injuries occur in this industry.
Construction Industry
The construction industry has a total number of 9,658 workplace injuries that occurred in California in 2021. Interestingly, the injury incidence rate was just. 0.7 for every 200,000 working hours. Construction is often considered one of the more dangerous industries to go into when it comes to work injuries, so this finding was a bit unexpected.
Agriculture, Fishing, Forestry, and Hunting
Although the agriculture, fishing, forestry, and hunting industries (considered together here as one group) have a low total number of 2021 injuries in California, it is important to also consider the injury incidence rate. Here, the injury incidence rate for these industries is 4.0 for 2021. This relatively high injury incidence rate demonstrates that while there were fewer total injuries as compared to other industries, the injury incidence rate is one of the highest ones on the list, meaning that there were fewer overall hours worked in these industries.
Real Estate Leasing and Rental Industry
Another example of an industry in which there were few total injuries but a high injury incidence rate is the real estate leasing and rental industry. In this industry, there was a total of just 910 total injuries occurring in 2021.
However, the injury incidence rate for every 200,000 hours worked in 2021 by California employees was quite high at 4.6. Again, this means that even though the total number of injuries is low, the injury incidence rate is relatively high—meaning that there were fewer hours worked overall to be included in this sample of data.
Common Work Injuries by Industry
Different industries can have varying types of common work injuries. For example, employees who work in an office setting will suffer from different types of work injuries than those who work in the labor industry. The California Department of Industrial Relations compiles data each year that includes the frequency of certain types of work injuries for different professions and industry groups.
A compiled list of some of the most common work injuries in major industries can be found below. These statistics originated from data collected for the year 2020 in California.
Construction Industry
- Sprains, Strains, or Tears: 21.2% of injuries
- Soreness or Pain: 20.2% of injuries
- Fractures: 11.1% of injuries
- Cuts, Lacerations, or Punctures: 10.5% of injuries
- Bruises or Contusions: 5.7% of injuries
- Multiple Traumatic Injuries: 2.7% of injuries
- Amputations: 0.9% of injuries
- Other/Unknown: 27.7% of injuries
Manufacturing Industry
- Sprains, Strains, or Tears: 22.3% of injuries
- Soreness or Pain: 13.9% of injuries
- Cuts, Lacerations, or Punctures: 8.2% of injuries
- Fractures: 5.7% of injuries
- Bruises or Contusions: 5.2% of injuries
- Multiple Traumatic Injuries: 2.7% of injuries
- Chemical or Heat Burns: 1.5% of injuries
- Amputations: 0.8% of injuries
- Other/Unknown: 39.7% of injuries
Professional and Business Services
- Sprains, Strains, or Tears: 22.5% of injuries
- Soreness or Pain: 16.7% of injuries
- Fractures: 8.4% of injuries
- Bruises or Contusions: 6.0% of injuries
- Cuts, Lacerations, or Punctures: 5.0% of injuries
- Multiple Traumatic Injuries: 2.1% of injuries
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: .9% of injuries
- Other/Unknown: 38.4% of injuries
Information Services Industry
- Sprains, Strains, or Tears: 38.4% of injuries
- Soreness or Pain: 20.8% of injuries
- Multiple Traumatic Injuries: 8.8% of injuries
- Fractures: 4.4% of injuries
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: 4.4% of injuries
- Cuts, Lacerations, or Punctures: 3.8% of injuries
- Other/Unknown: 19.4% of injuries
Education and Health Care
- Sprains, Strains, or Tears: 16.3% of injuries
- Soreness or Pain: 10.8% of injuries
- Bruises or Contusions: 3.3% of injuries
- Fractures: 1.3% of injuries
- Cuts, Lacerations, Punctures: 1.1% of injuries
- Multiple Traumatic Injuries: 0.1% of injuries
- Other/Unknown: 67.1% of injuries
Common Body Parts Injured in the Workplace by Industry
The California Department of Industrial Relations has also compiled data to determine which body parts are injured most frequently in work-related injuries in this state by industry. The statistics shown in this section are also all from the year 2020.
- Construction Industry
In the construction industry, the most common injury location on the body was the lower extremities (27.9%), followed by the upper extremities (19.4%), the trunk and back (17.8%), multiple body parts (10.8%), the head (6.5%), and other areas of the body (17.6%).
- Manufacturing Industry
The most common work-related injuries in the manufacturing industry included the general body systems (31.9%), followed by the upper extremities (30.2%), lower extremities (13.8%), the trunk and back (13.7%), multiple body parts (5.4%), the head (4.1%), and other areas of the body (0.9%).
- Professional and Business Services
When it comes to the professional and business services industry, common work-related injuries include the general body systems (27.1%), followed by the upper extremities (23.7%), the lower extremities (18.8%), the trunk and back (12.7%), multiple body parts (7.2%), the head (9%), and other areas of the body (0.9%).
- Information Services Industry
The common work-related injuries sustained by employees working in the information services industry includes the upper extremities (28.3%), followed by the trunk and back (27.7%), multiple body parts (18.9%), the lower extremities (13.2%), the head (6.9%), general body systems (4.4%), and other areas of the body (0.6%).
- Education and Health Care
In the education and health care industry, the most common injury location on the body was the general body systems (62.5%), followed by the upper extremities (11.1%), the trunk and back (10.9%), lower extremities (5.6%), followed by multiple body parts (5.6%), the head (2.8%), and other areas of the body (1.5%).
California Workers’ Compensation Attorney for All Work Industries
Attorney Matthew Schondel is a workers’ compensation lawyer in the state of California who takes pride in helping his clients secure workers’ compensation benefits for their work-related injuries in a variety of different industries. If you have recently been injured in a work accident, do not hesitate to reach out to our office to begin the process of fighting for your legal rights.