Workers' compensation claims for traumatic brain injuries - Ohio, 2001-2010.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Al-Tarawneh I ; Collins, James H. ; Hendricks S ; Konda S ; Lampl M ; Meyers A ; Pinkerton, Lynne ; Reichard A ; Robins D ; Tiesman, Hope M. ; Wurzelbacher, Steven J.
• Description:
  Objectives: This study used data from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation to describe work-related nonfatal traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) that occurred among single-location, private-employer establishments from 2001 through 2010. Methods: Workers' compensation claims that listed TBIs as the primary or secondary diagnosis were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Demographic characteristics, establishment size, industry, and injury event were described. Injury events were auto-coded to the two-digit level of the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System. Rates of TBI claims per 10,000 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) were calculated using denominator data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages for Ohio, adjusted with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics labor, productivity, and costs series. The trend in rates over time was analyzed using Poisson regression. The distinction of medical-only or lost-time claims (> 7 days away fRom, William N.ork) was used as a surrogate measure for injury severity and lost-time claims were considered more severe than medical-only claims. Results: From 2001-2010, 6,192 claims for TBI were reported at a rate of 3.3 per 10,000 FTEs. The majority of TBI claims occurred among men (68%); workers aged 25-54 years (67%); and workers in establishments with 149 employees (55%). Forty-five percent of TBI claims resulted in lost-time (n=2,789). Slips, trips and falls (n=2,758, 45%) was the leading cause of TBI, followed by contact with objects and equipment (n=2,151, 35%). From 2001 to 2010, the rate of TBI claims per 10,000 FTEs increased from 2.6 to 4.9 (p < 0.0001).The rate of lost-time TBI claims per 10,000 FTEs also increased from 1.2 to 1.9 (p < 0.01). The industries with the highest TBI rate per 10,000 FTEs were transportation and warehousing (12.1) and construction (8.7). More than 50% of TBI claims in each of these industries were lost-time claims. Conclusions: The high proportion and increasing rate of lost-time TBI claims highlight the need for occupational TBI prevention efforts, especially in high-risk industries. Such efforts to reduce TBI incidence and severity can improve employee safety, facilitate return to work, and reduce costs to employers and insurers.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Dust Forestry Occupational Health Safety Wood
• Keywords:
  Age-groups Brain-damage Brain-function Construction-industry Demographic-characteristics Exposure-levels Head-injuries Humans Injuries Men Risk-factors Surveillance Transportation-industry Traumatic-injuries Warehousing Work-environment Workers

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• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  61
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047360
• Citation:
  National Occupational Injury Research Symposium 2015, (NOIRS 2015), May 19-21, 2015, Kingwood, West Virginia. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2015 May; :61
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2d92a96d9708c81d33ff31112c2d46c153e6f8500246ac98b6267c2380e906fd9cf3873baaf764c41361c109a6b167dfbcc2621715ab37049f9f812ab247f291
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/181663/cdc_181663_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.24 MB ]