Regardless of where you work in California, there is always a risk for a workplace injury. Not all injuries are severe, but many of them do result in time off work, which can affect the whole business. Many people work in jobs where they think they will never have to worry about workplace accidents, but when looking at the statistics, you may be surprised what you learn about the most common injuries. Just because you may not work in one of the top most dangerous fields does not mean you are never going to suffer an injury.
The fields that see the largest number of workplace injuries, according to The National Safety Council, probably will not surprise you. They include construction, maintenance, manufacturing, transportation and service, which includes public service workers. These are obviously risky professions where injuries can more easily occur.
However, the most common injuries may surprise you. They include cuts or punctures, pain and sprain or strains. These are not usually the most severe injuries and could pretty much occur in any workplace.
Furthermore, about 34 percent of all workplace injuries are due to overexertion. Being struck by something and falls account for 25 percent each of all injuries. Again, each of these types of situations could occur anywhere.
Perhaps most shocking is that every hour of the day there are 510 on-the-job injuries. This adds up to 12,300 per day, 86, 500 per week and 4.5 million per year. Of course, most are not severe injuries, but they still lead to a total of abut 104 million days of lost production.
This information is for education and is not legal advice.