New Research on Who is at the Top of the Workplace Injury Risk List

By James Hoffmann  Apr. 17, 2017 12:57p

Recently, some highly interesting research was conducted into workplace injury risks faced by different types of workers. This research was conducted jointly by Boston University and the University of Southern California. The results are based on a large scale research project which surveyed around 200,000 people.

The results of the study were published in Health Affairs Journal. One of the key conclusions of this research was that Hispanic immigrants and black males are at the greatest risks of suffering an injury at work.

Now this, of course, is not because certain demographics are particularly careless and clumsy. It seems that this possibly due to unequal opportunities being given to people from minority groups. When levels of education were also taken into account, the risks increased even more for these groups. It seems that businesses are giving their more dangerous jobs to black and Hispanic males. There are fewer opportunities in many businesses for these groups of people so they have no choice but to take jobs that are potentially dangerously. In this post, our St. Louis workers compensation lawyer will discuss the results of this study in detail.

A closer look at the findings of this study

For one thousand workers, on average 14 immigrant Hispanic males are injured in the workplace. For black males this figure is 12.2 in 1000. Immigrant Hispanic females suffer 11 injuries per 100 workers and white men suffer 11.8. Asian American men suffer the least workplace injuries with 10 in 1000.

The study found a strong link between workplace injuries and long term disability rates. This was particularly true for workers coming towards the end of their working life.

Discrimination of this type in the workplace is nothing new. Go back a few decades and take a look at the steel industry, you would find that the most dangerous jobs with the coke ovens, jobs where the workers were exposed to dangerous toxins that were known to cause cancer, were only given to black male workers! You'd think this type of discrimination would be a thing of the past, but this study shows that there may still be some major issues in this area.

If you are injured in the workplace, you are likely entitled to workers compensation benefits. Speak to an experienced St. Louis workers compensation lawyer to know about your rights. Call (314) 361-4300 for a free consultation.

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