Pinnacol Assurance released data from five years’ worth of Colorado claims that shows which injuries are most likely to occur across four industries, who is most likely to get injured at work, and when those injuries are more likely to occur.

Analysts looked at injury data from 2012 to 2017 in the service/hospitality, professional/clerical, construction/natural resources and healthcare industries.

Jim McMillen, director of Safety Services at Pinnacol, said that it might surprise people to know the most commonly injured body part for both construction workers and office workers is the lower back.

They also found that injuries spike around 10 a.m. for those in the service/hospitality, construction/natural resources and healthcare industries. Researchers thought that might have to do with dropping blood sugar levels right before lunch. Seven injuries per day occur in clerical/professional fields industries. Almost 40 percent of injuries in healthcare occur when an employee is in their first year on the job and there is a significant spike in injury frequency 3-4 years from their hire date. About 30 percent of injuries for professional and clerical workers occur in their first year of employment but then there is a significant spike in injury frequency when they are more than 10 years from their hire date.

Service and hospitality workers suffered more injuries in July than any other month, and 35 percent were more likely to be injured in the first six months of the job.

Strains were among the most common injury types across the occupations observed.

McMillen said that employers who want to provide a safer workplace for their employees could use this data to make changes like modifying schedules and increasing training.

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