Work-Related Amputations in Michigan, 2008

Details

• Personal Author:
  Largo TW ; Rosenman, Kenneth D. ; Largo TW ; Rosenman, Kenneth D.
• Description:
  The Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Michigan State University has developed a system for collecting data on work-related amputations in Michigan. This report characterizes these injuries for 2008. The salient findings are as follows: The system identified a total of 609 Michigan resident work-related amputations. This corresponds to a rate of 13.5 per 100,000 workers. In comparison, the official U.S. Department of Labor estimate (250)1 was 59% lower. Hospital/emergency department medical records identified 528 cases. Workers' compensation lost work time claims data identified 233 amputation cases of which 80 were not found using medical records alone. In combination, hospital/emergency department medical records and workers' compensation claims identified one additional case. The amputation rate for males was nearly seven times that for females. Among males, rates were highest for those aged 20-24. Forty-five percent of the incidents occurred among those working in the manufacturing industry. The specific manufacturing groups with the highest rates were Paper Manufacturing, Wood Product Manufacturing, and Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing. Power saws were the leading cause of amputations, accounting for 18% of cases for which injury cause was specified. Ninety-six percent of amputations involved fingers. One in nine of these finger injuries were to multiple fingers. Upper extremity amputations occurred most often (59%) on the left side. Workers' compensation was the expected source of payment of hospitalization or emergency department care for 79% of the cases for which payment source was identified. Payer source could not be determined for 5.5% of medical records reviewed. To date, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) inspected 35 of the worksites identified through medical records and assessed an average of nine violations and $1,350 in fines per inspection. All of Michigan's acute care hospitals are required to participate in this surveillance system and were the primary source of data for most (87%) of the identified cases for 2008. Data provided by the Michigan Workers' Compensation Agency identified an additional 13% of cases that were not identified by hospital-based surveillance alone. The workers' compensation data were limited to individuals who requested wage replacement and did not include individuals who had claims for medical care cost reimbursement alone. Therefore, the 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 request 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 609 amputations identified are appreciably larger than the official employer based estimate of 250. This report will be updated annually and made available on the websites of the Michigan Department of Community Health, 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 ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  1-33
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054255
• Citation:
  East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, 2011 Jan; :1-33
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Work-related amputations in Michigan, 2008
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5e489f21f6448cb78ae8a4d626abd70b59cc2af2a8b6a6dc51ee7c9a31e8604e99e1eb80efa8ca84e0a9953a1908493b2127e741f66f8aa0dff88be9a7da689b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216857/cdc_216857_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 223.81 KB ]