Any employee can get hurt on the job, even if they have years of experience. There are a variety of different work hazards that can affect professionals in almost any career. There are also relatively universal job hazards that impact the safety of many professionals, including slip-and-fall incidents.
Every career exposes professionals to injury risks and even health hazards that can cause major illnesses. Employees with appropriate training and employers with effective safety standards can potentially prevent some on-the-job injuries. However, thousands of people every year sustain injuries while working or develop major medical issues because of their employment.
Injured employees may need to take time away from their jobs to recover and may require medical benefits to pay for their care costs. The type of employment that has the strongest association with an on-the-job injury or illness may surprise many people.
What is the most dangerous career setting?
Workers in Alaska may take jobs in some of the most dangerous industries. Many people look at workplace fatality statistics when ranking how dangerous certain careers actually are. However, the reality is that multiple people sustain injuries for every one workplace fatality.
Therefore, looking at lost-time incidents and injury reports can provide better insight into workplace safety than looking at fatalities. When looking at the professions where workers report the highest rate of injury, one workplace stands out as far more dangerous than any other.
According to data gathered over more than two decades, hospitals are more dangerous than any other private industry workplace setting. Each year, hospitals saw 157.5 injuries per 10,000 full-time employees. Private employees in all industries only saw 105.2 injuries per 10,000 employees.
Construction, which many people view as a very dangerous career, saw 147.4 injuries per 10,000 full-time workers, while the manufacturing sector only had 105.2 injuries per 10,000 workers. Like professionals in any career, injured or sickened hospital employees may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. They can apply for benefits that replace their wages and pay for their medical treatment.
Learning about job hazards and workers’ compensation benefits can help employees assert themselves after an incident on the job. Hospital workers may be more likely than many others to file a workers’ compensation claim because of their elevated risk of a work injury.
