Analysis of construction injury burden by type of work

Background To lay groundwork for identifying patterns of injury etiology, w e sought to describe injury experience associated with types of work perfor med at construction sites by examining workers' compensation (WC) claims fo r the 32,081 construction workers who built Denver International Airport (D IA). Methods Injury rates and WC payment rates were calculated for 25 types of w ork based on claims and payroll data reported to DIA's owner-controlled ins urance program according to National Council on Compensation Insurance job classifications. By linking DIA claims with corresponding lost-work-time (L WT) claims filed with Colorado's Workers' Compensation Division, we were al so able to obtain and examine both total and median lost days for each type of work. Results Injury experience varied widely among the types of construction wor k. Workers building elevators and conduits and installing glass, metal, or steel were at particularly high risk of both LWT and non-LWT injury. Median day lost by injured workers was highest (202 days) for driving/trucking. M edian days lost for most types of work was much greater than previously rep orted for construction: 40 days or more for 18 of the 25 types of work anal yzed. WC payment rates reflect both number and severity of injuries and wer e generally not significantly different from expected losses. They were, ho wever, significantly higher than expected for driving/trucking, metal/steel installation, inspection/analysis, and elevator construction. Conclusion Analysis of injury data by type of work allows targeting of safe ty resources to high risk construction work and would be useful in prospect ive surveillance at large construction sites with centrally administered wo rkers' compensation plans. Am. J. Ind. Med. 37:390-399, 2000. (C) 2000 Wile y-Liss, Inc.