Hand Safety Stats and Facts

FACTS

Common Causes of Hand Injuries

  • Carelessness
  • Lack of awareness
  • Boredom
  • Distractions
  • Disregard for safety procedures

Common Hand Injuries

  • Lacerations. Lacerations are the most common type of hand injuries. Often lacerations are due to the fact that a worker is not wearing gloves, or they are wearing gloves that are inadequate for the task they are doing.
  • Crush Injury. Crush injuries are usually due to the fact that a worker has placed their hands in the line of fire between two objects or in a rotating piece of equipment.
  • Fractures. A fracture injury can occur when there is a sudden blow to the bones in the fingers or the hands. Workers can also suffer a fracture because of falling objects, machinery accidents, explosions, malfunctioning power tools, and other hazards at a worksite.
  • Other Injuries. Include amputations, stiff joints, nerve damage, paralysis and burns.

STATS

  • About 10% of hand injuries result from the improper use of hand tools, while 40 % are caused during the handling of materials. (Workplace Safety North, Ontario)
  • Every year in Canada, an estimated 500,000 work-related hand injuries occur.
  • Five types of hand injuries are: lacerations (cuts), accounting for 63 percent of the total; crush (13 percent); avulsion (tearing of skin or soft tissue), accounting for eight percent; puncture (six percent); and fracture (five percent), according to the National Safety Council.
  • Of the 286,810 non-fatal occupational injuries to upper extremities in 2018 involving days away from work in private industry, 123,990 involved hands, which is more than 43 %, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • A hand injury can cost anywhere from $540 to $26,000, according to the National Safety Council. Injuries to the hand have a big impact on workers’ compensation claims.
  • The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has reported that 70.9 % of hand and arm injuries could have been prevented with personal protective equipment, specifically safety gloves. Yet, 70 percent of workers don’t wear hand protection, and of those who do, 30 percent don’t wear the right kind of glove for the task.
  • Every year, roughly 30 % of all workplace injuries are from cuts and lacerations and 12 percent of those were strictly to the hands.