Occupational Injuries

Occupational injuries are any health problem resulting directly from activities which take place when the patient was at the workplace or in some other way which result from working in a specific job. The occupations which most clearly and often startlingly suffer from high incidence of occupational injuries include the military services, as recent conflicts have made clear. Other occupations at particular risk include those related to mining, sports and, recently, journalism. In the past, such an injury would be regarded as an Act of God and, consequently, the afflicted would have no call on resources or compensation to make up for loss of good health and livelihood.

According to custom and discretion, a small pension might be made available to some employees, as for example in the case of the Chelsea Pensioners in Britain, who were former service personnel supported at the crown's expense. In more recent times, the organization of labour around the world has led to the creation of compensation schemes for workers suffering permanent loss and social welfare schemes to assist workers with temporary illness and inability to work.

Many developed countries also offer schemes partly or wholly funded by the state to deal with these issues. In addition, legislation may have been passed making it possible either for the state to prosecute employers whose negligence had led to the injury for recovery of damages or else makes provision for the affected to sue such people on a civil basis. In addition, as certain employees in highly-skilled or otherwise valuable areas may face certain risks, then insurance schemes may be taken out to ensure that such injuries do not cause financial loss to employers, as well as the employees themselves. Such schemes are increasingly common among very highly-paid and vulnerable workers such as elite athletes, who may also wish to take out insurance on their own behalf.

A survey in the USA in 2005 revealed that occupational injuries occurred at the rate of 4.6 cases per 100 full time working equivalents in the private sector. The proportion was higher for goods-producing industries (6.2 cases per 100) than for service-pro-ducing industries (4.1 cases per 100), although in both cases small but measurable decreases were noted from the previous survey. These figures are much lower than in other countries with lower occupational health standards or which work with equipment or machinery which would be considered obsolete in the developed world.

Just as in the United States, those workers operating heavy machinery, transportation vehicles and in dangerous environments (e.g. underground, at sea or in an environment with hazardous materials present) face higher risks than those in clerical or managerial positions. Not only is the incidence of occupational injury or disease higher in those cases but also the severity of the health problems may be heightened.

In the international context, countries which are members of the International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations are obliged to follow the provisions of the Convention No.121, which is entitled ‘Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964.’ This convention specifies the obligations of member governments in aiming to minimize the occurrence of occupational injuries and their requirements in compensating those who may suffer from them.

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