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Article
Using Workers’ Compensation Claims Data to Characterize Occupational Injuries in the Commercial Grain Elevator Industry
Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
  • Sai K. Ramaswany, Iowa State University
  • Gretchen A Mosher, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
1-1-2017
DOI
10.13031/jash.12196
Abstract

Workplace injuries in the grain handling industry are common, yet little research has characterized worker injuries in grain elevators across all hazard types. Learning from past injuries is essential for preventing future occurrences, but the lack of injury information for the grain handling industry hinders this effort. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by using data from over 7000 workers‘ compensation claims reported from 2008 to 2016 by commercial grain handling facilities in the U.S. to characterize injury costs and severity. The total amount paid for each claim was used as a measure of injury severity. The effects of employee age and tenure, cause of injury, and body part injured on the cost of work-related injuries were investigated. Contingency tables were used to classify the variable pairs. The chi-square test and chi-square residuals were employed to evaluate the relationship between the variable pairs and identify the at-risk groups. Results showed that the employee age and tenure, cause of injury, and body part injured have a significant influence on the cost paid for the claim. Several at-risk groups were identified as a result of the analyses. Findings from the study will assist commercial grain elevators in the development of targeted safety interventions and assist grain elevator safety managers in mitigating financial and social losses from occupational injuries.

Comments

This article is published as Ramaswamy, S.K. and G.A. Mosher. 2017. Using Workers' Compensation Claims Data to Characterize Occupational Injuries in the Commercial Grain Elevator Industry. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health 23, no. 3: 203–217, doi:10.13031/jash.12196. Posted with permission.

Copyright Owner
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Sai K. Ramaswany and Gretchen A Mosher. "Using Workers’ Compensation Claims Data to Characterize Occupational Injuries in the Commercial Grain Elevator Industry" Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health Vol. 23 Iss. 3 (2017) p. 203 - 217
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gretchen_mosher/47/