Work-Related Amputations in Michigan, 2014

Details

• Personal Author:
  Largo TW ; Rosenman, Kenneth D.
• Description:
  The Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Michigan State University in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services maintains a multi-source system for collecting data on work-related amputations in Michigan. This report characterizes these injuries for 2014. The salient findings are as follows: The system identified a total of 519 Michigan resident work-related amputations. This corresponds to a rate of 11.8 per 100,000 workers. In comparison, the official U.S. Department of Labor estimate (150) was 71% lower. From 2006 to 2014, the number of work-related amputations in Michigan decreased 29.9% and the rate decreased 24.8%. In 2006, there were 740 cases with a corresponding rate of 15.7 per 100,000. The number and rate of work-related amputations decreased from 2006 to 2009. From 2009 to 2011, the number and rate were level. From 2012 to 2013, the number increased 15.3% and the rate increased 12.9%. And from 2013 to 2014, the number decreased 8.3% and the rate decreased 9.9%. Hospital/emergency department medical records identified 458 cases. Workers' Compensation lost work time claims data identified 177 cases, 119 of which were linked to medical records (one of these was an amputation case for which work-relatedness could not be determined based on the medical record). There were 61 cases that would have been missed had Workers' Compensation claims data not been used to supplement medical records. The amputation rate for males was almost nine times the rate for females. Among males, rates were highest for those aged 20-24 years. Forty-two percent of the amputations occurred among those working in the manufacturing industry. The specific manufacturing group with the highest rate was Wood Product Manufacturing. Power saws and presses were the leading causes of amputations, accounting for 14.0% and 11.8%, respectively, of cases for which injury cause was specified. Ninety-six percent of amputations involved fingers. Nearly one in six (15.0%) finger amputation injuries involved multiple fingers. Upper extremity amputations occurred more often on the left side than the right side (53% v. 47%, respectively). Workers' Compensation was the expected source of payment of hospitalization or emergency department care for 82.0% of the cases for which payment source was identified. Payer source could not be determined for 9.0% of medical records reviewed. The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) inspected 28 worksites identified through medical records and assessed an average of one violation and $3,000 in penalties per worksite inspected. All of Michigan's hospitals are required to report work-related amputation cases and were the primary source of data for most (88%) of the identified cases for 2014. Data provided by the Michigan Workers' Compensation Agency identified an additional 12% of cases that were not identified by hospital-based surveillance alone. The Workers' Compensation data were limited to individuals who requested wage replacement for being off work for more than seven consecutive days or received a set amount based on the percentage of finger(s) amputated and did not include individuals who had claims for medical care cost reimbursement alone. Therefore, Michigan's surveillance system missed those cases in which injured workers were treated in non-hospital/emergency department settings or at out-of-state hospitals and did not file a Worker Compensation claim for wage replacement. The Michigan work-related amputation surveillance system produces valuable information. It identifies hazardous worksites that otherwise might go undetected and facilitates remediation at these worksites. It provides information that can be used to characterize workers and industries with high amputation rates. Finally, by combining data from two separate systems, medical records and Workers' Compensation claims, it provides the best estimate of the true number of amputations that occur in Michigan. The 519 amputations identified are appreciably larger than the official employer-based estimate of 150. This report will be updated annually and made available on the websites of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Environmental Health, and the Michigan State University Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Hand Injuries Manufacturing Occupational Health Power Tools Surveillance Traumatic Injuries Workers Compensation
• Publisher:
  Michigan State University
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-33
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054249
• Citation:
  East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, 2016 Mar; :1-33
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Work-related amputations in Michigan, 2014
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7a1da3d4f130fd3627fcafb799fa046b3dfcf6ea6e14fffbbe85cd10f97bb48c69fb9dbf189f8081ff70c4aa8b089a847b6b37d6b38d3c5560779b21b0bc8337
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216851/cdc_216851_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 309.18 KB ]