A fifth of Americans have been injured at work

More than one in five Americans say they have been injured on the job, according to a new survey from FindLaw.com, the legal information website.

According to the survey, 21% of American adults say that they have suffered an injury while on the job that was serious enough for them to take time off work. The vast majority of injuries involve slip-and-fall accidents, repetitive motion injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, and other musculoskeletal injuries.

The most common types of injury were:

• Falling/slipping (31%)
• Repetitive motion (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome)  (20%)
• Injured by machinery or struck by object (17%)
• Motor vehicle accident (12%)
• Other musculoskeletal injury (e.g., overexertion, lifting, back pain, etc.) (37%)

Twenty-six percent of men say they have suffered an injury while working compared with 6% of women. While men were more likely to be injured by being caught in machinery or struck by an object, women were more likely to suffer repetitive motion injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

"Workplaces are rife with potential hazards," said Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney-editor at FindLaw.com. "Injuries are by no means limited to manufacturing and construction work. Even office environments can produce carpal tunnel syndrome, injuries from lifting heavy objects or slip-and-fall accidents.

"In addition, motor vehicle accidents are a common source of on-the-job injuries. And workplace violence, including physical assault from a co-worker, is clearly a hazard in today's workplace according to our survey results.”

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