Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Among Law Enforcement Officers, 2001–2019: Findings from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Attwood WR ; Konda S ; Naber SJ ; Tiesman, Hope M. ; Wurzelbacher, Steven J.
• Description:
  Background: Occupational injuries are common among law enforcement officers (LEOs) and can impact an agency's ability to serve communities. Workers' compensation (WC) data are an underutilized source for occupational injury surveillance in the law enforcement field. Methods: LEOs WC claims from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (OHBWC) from 2001 to 2019 were identified based on manual review of the occupation title and injury description. Worker, employer, incident, and injury characteristics were described by claim type-medical-only (MO) and lost-time (8 or more days away from work). Data are presented using injury claim counts. Results: From 2001 to 2019, 50,793 WC claims were identified among Ohio LEOs. Of these, 68% were MO claims (n = 34,622). WC claims significantly decreased over the 19-year period (p < 0.001). Seventy-five percent of WC claims were from a LEO with more than one claim and of these, 34% were from a LEO with five or more claims during the study period. Male officers and those aged 25-54 years incurred the highest proportion of total claims (87.8% & 91.8%, respectively). Violence (n = 17,247; 34%), falls/slips/trips (n = 9079; 17.9%), and transportation events (n = 7977; 15.7%) were the leading events. Among the 50,793 claims, there were 79,637 unique clinical diagnosis groups. The most common injury diagnoses were sprains (n = 32,796; 41.2%) followed by contusions (n = 13,529; 17%). Conclusions: Results can guide the development or improvement of workplace injury prevention strategies for LEOs. Efforts should be focused on better understanding and preventing violent injury events and sprains among LEOs, as well as preventing multiple injury events. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Law Enforcement Occupational Health Safety Transportation Violence
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Injuries Injuries Law Enforcement Officer Law Enforcement Workers Lost Work Days Occupational Safety And Health Slips, Trips, And Falls STF Surveillance Workers' Compensation Workers Compensation

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research ; DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering ; NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  66
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068565
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2023 Dec; 66(12):1079-1089
• Contact Point Address:
  Hope M. Tiesman, PhD, Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Rd M/S 1811, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
• Email:
  htiesman@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:09f06a60276cb03ec5d05dfec9afd7d1b45ebd2f50284035f699ebee2bd6635f1515adb1ed88967a4e5094832156c0d346e603b5bf2a05f959c71aa0a7e5388e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207174/cdc_207174_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 729.09 KB ]