Citation

Jones T, Kumar S. Int. J. Ind. Ergonomics 2004; 33(5): 415-427.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A comprehensive Workers Compensation Board of Alberta claims database for the sawmill industry describing 3779 claims was analyzed for the years 1997-2002. A total of 48,025 days were lost due to claim and total claims cost were $ 8,640,886.06. The objectives of this descriptive study were to: identify claims trends in terms of nature of injury, type of accident or exposure, source of injury, and body part injured; determine the effect of work experience and worker age on the above classifications; assess the impact of observed claims trends in terms of cost and duration of claim; and compare incidence rates of nonfatal injuries resulting in workers compensation board claims in Alberta, Canada to those reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States. The majority of injuries resulting in claims were experienced by males 24-35 years of age with 1-6 months of work experience. Musculoskeletal injuries were the most common nature of injury (46.7%). The upper extremity was the most frequently injured region of the body (45.5%). The majority of claims (54.5%) were defined as lost time claims and 46% as medical aid only. Comparison of the incidence rates of specific injury/illness characteristic categories indicate that incidence rates reported by the BLS based on the survey of occupational injuries and illness are not representative of incidence rates observed in Alberta, Canada.Relevance to industryThe description of injury trends within the sawmill industry stands to positively impact the effectiveness of prevention and rehabilitation programs addressing workplace injuries/illnesses. In addition, comparison of incidence rates observed in Alberta to those estimated by the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses provides a useful insight into the differences between the respective statistical sources.