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Nonfatal Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in Maryland Decline in 2008
A total of 75,000 nonfatal work-related injuries and illnesses were reported by Maryland's public and private sector
workplaces during 2008, according to the latest results of the Maryland Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
(SOII). There were 8,100 fewer cases reported than in 2007. The number of injuries and illnesses converts to a total
recordable case (TRC) incidence rate of 3.7 injuries and illnesses per 100 equivalent full-time workers. This represents
a 10 percent decline when compared with the previous year's rate. The Maryland TRC rate is also 12 percent below the
2008 national average.
Injury and Illness Industry Summary Data, Maryland's Private Sector, 2008
Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among Maryland's private sector employers occurred at a rate of 3.3 cases
per 100 equivalent full-time workers. This was a decline from 3.7 cases reported in 2007. The TRC injury and illness
incidence rate among the State's private industry employers has declined significantly each year since 2003, when
estimates from the Survey were first published based upon the 2002 North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS). Similarly, the number of workplace injury and illness cases for the State's private sector declined by 11
percent from 65,700 cases in 2007 to 58,600 in 2008.
Key findings for the State's private sector, 2008
- Of the 58,600 injuries and illnesses reported by Maryland's private sector employers, over 21,000 of these cases
were severe enough to require at least one day off from work for recuperation. Of these, 16,340 cases (77 percent of
total) were in the service-providing industries and the remaining 4,780 were in the goods-producing industries.
- The rates for injuries and illnesses in the State's private sector varied depending on the size of the
establishment. The TRC injury and illness incidence rate for the largest establishments (those employing 1,000 or more
workers) was highest at 4.5 cases for every 100 equivalent full-time workers. This compared with 1.0 case per 100
equivalent full-time workers in establishments with 10 or less employees.
- Employing some 322,600 workers, the State's goods-producing industries collectively had a TRC rate of 3.9 cases
per 100 equivalent full-time workers. This was down from the previous year's reported rate of 4.5. Additionally,
Maryland's rate was 20 percent below the 2008 national average. The goods- producing sector is a NAICS aggregate
industry sector that includes manufacturing, construction, agriculture, natural resources and the mining industry
sectors.
- With 1,773,400 workers employed, Maryland's service-providing industries sector reported a TRC incidence rate of
3.2. This rate was 11 percent below the national average of 3.6 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers.
- Wholesale trade's total recordable case rate decreased from 5.0 injuries and illnesses per 100 equivalent
full-time workers in 2007 to 3.3 in 2008. This sector employed 95,300 workers in the State during 2008.
- With more than three times the employment of wholesale trade, the 300,300 workers in the retail trade industry
experienced a TRC incidence rate of 4.1.This was seven percent below the national average for retail.
- Private sector construction reported 6,900 occupational injury and illness cases (1,400 fewer than in 2007). Since
2005, both the rate and number of injury and illness cases in construction have continued to decline.
- There were 1,700 new cases of occupational illness reported in the private sector during 2008. Of these, 300 cases
were classified as "skin disorders;" 200 were cases of "hearing loss;" and "respiratory conditions" and "poisonings"
reported 100 cases each.
Maryland State and local government, 2008
The public sector estimates, covering slightly over 336,000 State and local government workers, resulted in a total
recordable case incidence rate of 6.6 injury and illness cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers. Although this
represented a 7 percent decline from the previous year's rate of 7.1, it is still 5 percent higher than the national
public sector average. There were 16,400 new cases of occupational injury and illness reported for Maryland's State and
local government.
Historically, injury and illness rates for State and local government have tended to be higher than those in the
private sector. There are probably multiple factors influencing this. Certainly the greater relative risk of injury or
illness due to hazards associated among particular occupations concentrated within the public sector plays a role. For
example, police protection, correctional institutions, public transportation, public works and State hospitals
consistently record high rates. In fact, most of the highest injury and illness rates for Maryland were reported for
industries within State and local government. Some notable examples in State government were hospitals (18.6); nursing
and residential care facilities (15.0); and correctional institutions (12.4). Examples in local government were health
care and social assistance (23.6); fire protection (15.0); and police protection (9.6).
State and local government highlights, 2008
- Although there were 5,000 new injury and illness cases reported, Maryland State government's workforce experienced
300 fewer cases than in 2007. The total recordable case incidence rate was 5.7, down from the previous year's rate of 6.1.
- For State government, 2,200 injuries and illnesses cases, or over two-fifths of the total, were severe enough to
require time off from work for recuperation.
- There were 11,300 new occupational injuries and illnesses reported for local government with 3,800 (slightly over
one-third of the total) requiring time off from work.
- Local government's elementary and secondary schools reported 4,300 injury and illness cases with almost 25 percent
of the cases requiring days away from work for recuperation.
Maryland Nonfatal Injury and Illness Case Characteristics and Demographic Data
In addition to industry summary rates, the SOII provides details on worker demographics (e.g., occupation, age,
gender, race, and length of service) for the more serious cases. A serious case is defined as a one that requires the
injured or ill employee to take at least one day off from work for recuperation. The SOII also provides information that
details the circumstances of these days away from work cases. The injury or illness is described from four vantage points.
- Nature of the injury or illness - identifies the principal physical characteristics
(e.g., sprain, cut, amputation);
- Part of the body affected - identifies the part of the body directly affected by the previously identified nature
of injury or illness (e.g., lung, brain, back);
- Event or exposure - describes the manner in which the injury or illness was produced (e.g., fall, assault, struck
by an object); and
- Source and secondary source - identifies the object, substance, bodily motion or exposure which directly produced
or inflicted the injury or illness (e.g., punch press, bodily motion, ground, acid).
Case and Demographic Highlights: the Private and Public Sectors, 2008
- For every year since 2003, the occupation with the most injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work in
the private sector was "Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand" with 1,820 cases reported in 2008.
This was an increase of six percent for this occupation from 2007.
- The number of days-away-from-work cases for private sector "construction laborers" decreased by 10 percent to 760
in 2008 from the previous year.
- Two occupations: "Police and sheriff's patrol officers" (1,000) and "Firefighters" (480) accounted for almost
two-fifths of the total number of 3,810 cases resulting in days away for local government.
- Three occupations: "Correctional officers and jailers" (450), "Bus drivers, transit and intercity" (450) and
"Police and sheriff's patrol officers" (150) accounted for close to half the total number of 2,180 cases reported for
all State government.
Demographic Characteristics
- Men accounted for approximately 65 percent (13,580) of the days-away-from-work cases reported by private industry.
The rate of injury and illness for both men and women decreased in 2008 by 9 and 13 percent, respectively, though men
continue to have a higher incidence rate (136.3 cases per 10,000 workers) than women (97.3 cases per 10,000 workers).
- Men accounted for 60 percent of all the lost time cases reported for Local government. The 2,290 injuries and
illnesses involving male workers represented a 13 percent decline compared with 2007.
- Women accounted for the majority of the 2,180 cases in State government with 57 percent (1,240) of the total.
- The 7,290 cases reported involving white workers in the private sector requiring time off decreased by almost
one-quarter compared with 2007. The 4,460 cases involving black workers represented a 17 percent decline. In spite of
these declines, injuries and illnesses to Hispanic workers increased by 6 percent from the previous year with 1,760
cases. Race or ethnicity was not reported for slightly over one-third of the cases submitted.
- Private sector workers between 35 to 44 years of age had the highest rate for cases requiring time off from work
(139.9 per 10,000 equivalent full-time workers) while those 55 to 64 had the lowest rate with 90.1.
Case Characteristics
- One measure indicating the severity of an injury or illness is the median number of days away from work required
for the worker to recuperate. For every year since 2005, cases due to repetitive motion have had the highest median
number of days away from work for private sector workers with 56 in 2008.
- Based on the nature of the injury or illness, carpal tunnel syndrome, with 102 days, recorded the highest median
number of days missed from work in the State's private sector. This was followed by amputations with 76 days. The
median number of days missed for all cases was 7.
- Thirty-eight percent of private industry's 8,880 sprains and strains cases were back injuries. Another 31 percent
involved the lower extremities (typically the knee or ankle).
Background of the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII)
The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) is a cooperative program between the State of Maryland's
Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Division of Labor and Industry and the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
of Labor Statistics. The SOII provides estimates of the number and frequency (incidence rates) of nonfatal occupational
injuries and illnesses by industry. The survey also provides details on the circumstances and characteristics of the
more seriously injured and ill workers. The statistics are based on the safety and health logs that by law employers are
required to keep. Occupational injury and illness statistics have been published for the State's private sector every
year since 1973 and for Maryland's State and local government since 1979.
The SOII program utilizes an employer-based questionnaire that is mailed to over 4,700 business establishments. Most
employers submit their data electronically through a secure on-line website. The responses are compiled, tabulated and
the results published annually. The SOII is the primary source for charting the nature and magnitude of the occupational
injury and illness problem across the country.
The survey uses statistical sampling techniques for producing estimates. Because the data are based on a random
sampling of establishments in the universe file (the universe is all operating in-scope establishments in Maryland's
unemployment insurance tax file), the estimates probably differ from the figures that would be obtained if every
establishment in the State had participated. To determine the precision of each estimate, a standard error is
calculated. The standard error defines a range (confidence interval) around each estimate. Relative standard errors are
calculated for every estimate produced. The survey sample is stratified by establishment size class and by industry
classification. Industry classifications are based using the 2002 North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS).
The number of injuries and illnesses reported in a given year can be influenced by changes in the level of economic
activity, working conditions and work practices, worker training, and the number of hours worked.
The quality of the data is dependent on the employer's understanding of which cases are recordable under the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Recordkeeping Regulation. Maryland state agencies and all local
government municipalities and jurisdictions are required by law to keep records of occupational injuries and illnesses.
Additionally, many private sector establishments are required to keep records. The OSHA recordkeeping system is designed
to measure the incidence, rather than the prevalence, of occupational injuries and illnesses. Prevalence measures
capture all injuries and illnesses that occurred in a given year including all ongoing or unresolved cases from previous
years. The intent of the OSHA recordkeeping system is to measure each occupational injury and illness only once. The
Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, therefore, provides estimates of the numbers and rates of new workplace
injuries and illnesses in a given year.
Excluded from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses were the self-employed, farming operations with fewer
than 11 employees, private households and federal government agencies. Occupational injury and illness data for coal,
metal, and nonmetal mining and for railroad activities were provided by the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and
Health Administration (MSHA) and The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration respectively.
A Note Regarding Occupational Illness Statistics
Collecting data to produce occupational illness statistics remain a challenge with the true numbers and rates
difficult to measure. Unlike injuries, which result from sudden instantaneous events and are easily reported and
documented, many types of occupational illness are not diagnosed until long after the initial exposures to potential
carcinogens or other workplace toxins have taken place. It may be years before the cumulative effects of those exposures
present as occupational disease and the ill employee may no longer be in the workforce. Because of this, it is believed
the numbers and rates of certain types of long-term, latent occupational diseases are understated by the
SOII. In contrast, the overwhelming majority of the reported illnesses are those that are easier to directly relate to
the workplace, such as contact dermatitis or carpal tunnel syndrome.
SOURCE: Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Division of Labor and Industry in
cooperation with the U.S Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
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