Disabled workers in this country get injured on the job more often – a lot more often – than those who are working without a disability according to findings released today (you can read the study online in the American Journal of Public Health). Injuries that are serious enough to require medical attention.
Why? The American workplace is simply more dangerous for those workers on the job who come to work each day with a disability. Rates of occupational injury for the disabled American worker is 6.0 out of 100 compared to 2.3 out of 100 for their non-disabled coworkers. 6 compared to 2.3 … that’s a big difference in risk.
Disabled Workers Face Bigger On the Job Work Dangers of Serious Injury
This news comes from research done by folk at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University; Dr. Huiyan Xiang heads up the research project as the principal investigator at the Center for Injury Research and Policy. He is also co-author of the study and an Associate Professor of the Division of Epidemiology at The Ohio State University College of Public Health. According to Dr. Xiang:
“The increase in occupational injuries to workers with disabilities found in our study shows the need for better accommodation and safety programs in the workplace and the need for a safer working environment. Outreach programs that teach U.S. workers with disabilities occupational safety and health skills could play a significant role in preventing injuries.”
The two biggest reasons for people being hurt on the job while at work were (1) falling and (2) accidents involving transportation — car accidents, truck crashes, and the like. According to the study, if employers would take more care in making sure that the workplace was safe for workers, then we would see less injuries happen to all workers, whether they are disabled and on the job or not.
