Cost of Agricultural Injuries in the United States: Estimates Based on Surveillance, Insurance, and Government Statistics

Details

• Personal Author:
  Adhikari S ; Rautiainen, Risto ; Wilson F ; Adhikari S ; Rautiainen, Risto ; Wilson F
• Description:
  Background: Agriculture is a hazardous industry but the frequency and severity of agricultural injuries are not well documented as nonfatal injuries to self-employed farmers are excluded from national surveillance. The aim of this study was to provide new injury rate and cost estimates in US agriculture. Methods: Injury data were obtained from 2018 to 2020 Farm and Ranch Health and Safety Surveys. Responses from 7,195 farm/ranch operators included injury frequency, medical expense, and lost work time data. These injury rate and cost data were used to estimate national injury costs for self-employed farmers using Census of Agriculture operator count, injury costs for hired agricultural workers using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) nonfatal injury count, and fatal injury costs using BLS count of fatal injuries. Results: The injury rate for self-employed farmers and ranchers was 15.25 injuries per 100 operators or 11.9 "recordable" injuries per 100 full time equivalent operators (FTE). Average costs for nonfatal injuries were: $10,878 for medical care, $4735 for lost work time, and $15,613 in total per injury case. The total national agricultural injury cost estimate was $11.31 billion per year; 11.3% higher than the earlier benchmark using 1992 data; both in March 2024 dollars. The cost burden was 2.1% of the US national gross farm income and 13.4% of the net farm income in 2019. Conclusions: Injuries result in significant economic losses to farm and ranch operators, their family members, workers, and society. Preventive efforts should be scaled up to reduce the frequency and costs of agricultural injuries. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Economics Epidemiology Farmers Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Agriculture Cost Cost Analyses Economic Impact Farm Injuries Injury Lost Work Days Operator Ranch Surveillance

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Nebraska ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069829
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2024 Sep; 67(9):801-812
• Contact Point Address:
  Risto Rautiainen, PhD, 984395 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4388, USA
• Email:
  rrautiainen@unmc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing ; Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Nebraska Medical Center - Omaha
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20110901
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20270831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e62b56f9c5e38c7963eaa87175b970f00152fc6e53c92a4dde8e8e840eba816e3e1a258f9415ca483180b2b33b2e373462cbd4090d473ee431713b06ff7a3404
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208177/cdc_208177_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 800.13 KB ]