Personal Injury Lawyers > Personal Injury Blog > Workplace Injuries > Workplace Injuries Among Older Americans on the Rise

Personal Injury Blog

Workplace Injuries Among Older Americans on the Rise

The recession has made it essential for many older workers, who were looking forward to a quiet retirement, to reenter the workforce.  As more and older Americans join the workforce, the number of workplace-related injuries involving senior workers has also been steadily increasing.  According to a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these injury rates will continue to increase, unless employers understand that they need to keep the safety of older workers in mind.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that overall injury rates for older workers are almost the same as for younger workers.  However, older workers may be at a higher risk of specific kinds of accidents.  For example, these workers may be at a higher risk of slip and fall accidents, falls from stairs, ladders and heights.  Also, older workers may be at a higher risk of suffering certain kinds of injuries, like hip injuries or fractures.

Los Angeles work accident lawyers would be concerned because injuries in older workers take a much longer time to heal.  A hip injury in an older worker can not only mean loss of movement in the long-term, but also death.  Older workers suffer from decreased bone mineral density, and may be at a higher risk of fractures during workplace accidents.  According to the researchers who compiled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, there is an urgent need for American employers to visit the issue the safety and health issues of older employees.

The results of the report have been included in the April 29 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  The statistics came from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The workers included in the study included everybody from industry workers and office workers to retail, service employees and agricultural workers.  According to the study in 2009, there were more than 210,800 non-fatal workplace-related injuries and illnesses among workers above the age of 55.  These injuries and illnesses resulted in lost work days.  An overwhelming majority of these injuries or more than 94% were the result of trauma in the work place.  The remainder of the injuries included occupational illnesses and back pain.

Senior workers comprised 55% of workplace-related injuries in 2009 in the study, even though these workers comprised 52 % of the total workforce.  Male workers were also much more likely to stay away from work for longer periods of time after an injury than women.  Men stayed away from work for an average of 14 days after an injury, compared to women who stayed away from work for an average of nine days.  Most older worker-related injuries comprise broken bones. These injuries were responsible for an average of 42 lost days from work.

Employers can help reduce the risk of work-related injuries in senior citizens by targeting specific hazards, like slip and fall accident hazards involving these workers.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of work-related accidents in Los Angeles. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire to discuss a personal injury matter,  you can reach us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

---