Robot-Related Workers' Compensation Claims in Ohio, 2001-2020.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2026, v. 69, no. 5: Robot-Related Workers' Compensation Claims in Ohio, 2001-2020.
• Journal Article:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Suresh, Vaishakhi ; Konda, Srinivas ; Haney, Justin M. ; Camargo, Hugo E. ; Cheng, Marvin ; Weaver, Darlene ; Wurzelbacher, Steven J. ; Meyers, Alysha R. ; Naber, Steven J. ; Lampl, Mike
• Description:
  Increased robot adoption and advancements in robotics have led to the emergence of robotic arms for collaborative applications that work alongside humans, increasing direct human-robot interaction. This shift highlights the need to address new safety challenges posed by emerging robotic technologies. Currently, there is limited research on robot-related injuries.
  
  Robot-related workers' compensation claims from 2001 to 2020 were identified using a keyword search from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (OHBWC) database. Descriptive analyses were conducted on this claims dataset.
  
  From 2001 to 2020, 1076 robot-related claims were identified, with 85% medical-only claims (medical care only and/or ≤ 7 days away from work). Most claimants were male (74.2%), and 51.1% were 25-44 years old. More than half of the claims were due to contact with objects and equipment (57.9%), followed by overexertion and bodily reaction (20.6%). Most injuries occurred in the manufacturing sector (75.1%), followed by the service sector (14.7%). The claims resulted in over $8.3 million in costs. Of this figure, 91% was incurred due to lost-time claims ($7.6 million). Almost 30% of claims included diagnoses from multiple diagnosis groups. Most claims involved working with robotic arms for collaborative applications (75.7%) in a shared workspace.
  
  Robotics is rapidly evolving to remove workers from hazardous environments and reduce risks from hazardous, repetitive, and manual tasks, but it may introduce new workplace hazards. There is a need to study robot-related injuries, identify high-risk exposures, and develop sector- or application-specific comprehensive safety approaches for safer implementation of robots in the workplace.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Humans
  • Workers' Compensation
  • Adult
  • Male
  • Female
  • Occupational Injuries
  • Robotics
  • Middle Aged
  • Young Adult
• Keywords:
  • robot
  • occupational
  • injuries
  • safety
  • workers' compensation
• Source:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2026, v. 69, no. 5
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.70067
• ISSN:
  0271-3586 ; 1097-0274
• Pubmed ID:
  41773745
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC13130054
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio
• Pages in Document:
  345-357 (26 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  69
• Issue:
  5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/260757/cdc_260757_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.12 MB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:af4a5a7aea0806158a7b0903159b9de263e642339d2ef3cde39a8fa7de112571dc72734e6845fcdb2ec6670a44a125127fb11ee77cf71a2fc0ef83109f22b8fa