Have you ever been hurt or gotten sick on the job to the extent it’s sidelined you for a significant period of time? You’re not alone, and in fact, the problem of occupational injury or illness is underestimated according to a new study.

Occupational injury or illness is a huge health problem in society. Most of us spend at least a third of our day at work, and even with worksite safety measures, accidents happen and illnesses are caused by the work environment. Now experts are saying that the problem is much bigger than we have thought.

“I slipped on the ice and went under the bus. As I fell I pulled everything in my neck and back.” That was the beginning of an 11-month disability period for school bus driver Sharon Tortorici. Being out of work meant not getting her regular pay; on top of that, medical bills piled up. “The maximum you can get from compensation is $400 a week and nobody can live on $400 a week, especially when you are a single parent with children.”

Sharon’s story is a common one. According to a new study in the June Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the full health, economic, and social impact of occupational illnesses remains underappreciated.

Around 55,000 Americans die of occupational causes each year. If occupational injuries and diseases were classified as a separate cause, they would be the eighth-leading cause of death in the United States—just between diabetes and motor vehicle accidents.

And the economic price is mind-boggling- direct and indirect costs of occupational injury and occupational illness equal $155.5 billion per year in the United States alone.

Dr. Jacqueline Moline, Associate Professor of Community and Preventative Medicine at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine says, “When you look at those numbers, it’s astonishing that we don’t have better prevention, because many of these injuries could have been prevented and with that the costs not only to the individual but to the society as a whole could be lessened.”

However, these figures don’t take into account other hidden costs—like their impact on labor relations, family and community life, and mental health. So, the national institute for occupational safety and health, which led the study, is now calling for a better system to evaluate, follow and prevent occupational injury and disease. “I think the important thing is to make sure that individuals know they should be trained properly to do something. You know in a split second something can happen that can change your life,” says Dr. Moline.

Perhaps better standardization of guidelines would have made history a bit different for Sharon. “They could have put a de-icier under the bus to get rid of the ice or sand but they wouldn’t do that at the time,” says Sharon.

Injuries aren’t the only issue. Many occupational illnesses have several contributing factors and a long "latency period," sometimes with many years between a toxic exposure and the first signs of illness. That’s what has experts especially concerned: they are hard to evaluate and follow for this reason.

Worldwide, occupational factors may account for 800,000 deaths and 100 million injuries. Annual direct costs for medical care are estimated at $14.5 billion.

For more information on detailed statistics on occupational injury and occupational illness, go to:

http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshsum.htm#03Summary%20News%20Release

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