On-the-job injuries that can qualify you to receive workers’ comp benefits can be categorized by type of injury, body part injured, and cause. Knowing the details can help you both avoid problems before they arise and know whether you may have a claim that will be approved by Ohio Workers’ Compensation.

Here is what the legal team at Jones Law Group has learned about the most common workers’ compensation claims, both from assisting clients and by building professional relationships with claims investigators and workplace safety experts.

Most Common Workers’ Compensation Injuries by Type

Employees hurt while at their workplace or while doing work-related activities most often suffer burns, cuts, sprains, bruises, and fractures. Exact statistics on the frequencies with which each occur are difficult to compile, but it is clear from approved workers’ comp claims that any physical injury that qualifies for coverage must require medical treatment and leave the victim unable to work full time for full pay for some period of time.

Most Common Workers’ Compensation Injuries by Body Part Affected

Injuries to hands, feet, legs, shoulders, and heads top the list of reports to workers’ comp offices. Amputations of toes and fingers often occur frequently, as do eye damage and hearing loss.

Most Common Workers’ Compensation Injuries by Cause

A great deal of research has been done on the causes of the injuries employees suffer. The evidence shows that many workers’ comp-injuries result from repetitive stress, poor worker safety practices, and insufficient management oversight and supervision. One of the most-recently prepared rankings of causes for workplace and work-related injuries looks like this:

• Lifting, pushing, pulling, holding and carrying objects, which researchers classify as “overexertion” that results in strains (muscle tears) and joint problems
• Tripping over objects and slipping on slick surfaces, which are “falls on the same level” in workers’ compese
• Falling off ladders, stairs, raised walkways, and scaffolds
• “Bodily reactions,” which encompass sudden (acute) injuries sustained while moving but not falling to the ground or hitting an object; a bodily reaction injury can occur when a person bends, climbs, reaches, stands, sits, or stumbles
• Getting hit by an object such as a box falling off a shelf or a tool being dropped from above
• Walking or running into a hard surface such as a wall, door, filing cabinet, or desk
• Transportation accidents, including one that happens when a person is driving his or her own car during business hours for work purposes
• Getting trapped by machinery in a way that inflicts cuts, amputations, crush injuries, and/or fractures
• Doing the same motions so often that muscles and joints break down, including typing that leads to carpal tunnel syndrome, working a cutting torch that damages one’s eyesight, and repeatedly bending and twisting to damage one’s back and spine
• Being assaulted by a co-worker or customer

Experiencing any type of injury to any part of your body for any reason while working can lead to significant medical costs and disability. The workers’ compensation program exists to protect people from the worst financial consequences of getting hurt on the job, but succeeding with claims for work-related injuries can be difficult. To put a some of the top lawyers in Ohio to work on your behalf with going through the workers’ comp process, call the Jones Law Group at (614) 545-9998 or schedule a consultation online.