Stories that regularly surface in Ohio media outlets regarding work-related injuries make it manifestly clear that all manner of on-the-job injuries occur in industries across the state, and in high numbers.
Notwithstanding that reality, it is difficult to note exactly where Ohio resides vis a vis other states in the rate of workplace accidents and injuries that occur among its workforce population. Studies issue, of course, that provide meaningful data, but a comprehensive picture of Ohio’s injury rate as seen through a comparative lens is lacking.
A recent and quite comprehensive safety report authored by Allsup, a company that represents disability claimants, makes that clear. The report, which studies worksite injuries, rests on data provided by the Unites States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. It seeks especially to provide meaningful information on work industries that are particularly dangerous across the country, as indicated by high injury rates. It then seeks to add some perspective to the numbers by spotlighting the locations — including the states — where injury is most likely to occur.
Unfortunately for Ohio researchers, the state does not feature in the report, which does include safety data culled from 41 states and Washington, D.C. Nine states, including Ohio, lack data that is available for analysis. As an article on the report states, “Ohio recently received a grant to begin participating in the BLS survey.”
What that survey centrally notes for 2009-related numbers is that Maine is the state with the highest rate of injuries in the workplace, followed closely by Indiana and California, respectively. As for industries with the highest injury rates, amusement parks and animal slaughtering enterprises lead the way.
As noted in the report, more than one million workers in the country sustain an injury every year that results in one or more lost days of work.
Source: Claims Journal, “Rates of serious workplace injuries vary widely by state: Allsup study,” Aug. 6, 2013