Law firm Schmidt & Clark have examined the workplaces that are yielding the most injuries, and the number of healthcare workplace injuries was among the highest. According to 2020 figures from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was a 5.7% drop in reported workplace injuries compared to 2019, with a total figure of 2.7 million, compared to the previous year’s 2.8 million. Overall, there was a decrease in workplace injuries reported in 2020 by 5.7%, a total figure of 2.7 million down from 2.8 million in 2019.

In terms of sectors, injuries in the healthcare and social assistance industry increased dramatically. 

Injuries in this sector increased by 40.1% with 806,200 injuries in 2020, and 447,890 led to the employee having a day off work.

Examining specific occupations, nursing received a huge uptake in healthcare workplace injuries in 2020. Cases of nursing assistants with a day away from work in 2020 increased by 249.7% (68,890), while cases for registered nurses increased by 290.8% (58,590 cases). Healthcare and social assistance also had the highest rate of injury and illnesses, with 5.5 per 100 full-time workers. 

The segment of agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting—despite having one of the lowest number of cases, with 45,900—still had the second highest rate of injury and illness, with 4.6 per 100 full-time workers.

Meanwhile, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers saw a decrease in the number of employees with a day off work in 2020 as a result of injury, a decrease of 9.4% accounting for a total of 4,490 cases.

Industries hit the hardest: 

IndustryNo. of Injury and Illness Cases
Healthcare and social assistance806,200
Manufacturing373,300
Retail Trade341,100
Transportation & Warehousing206,900
Construction174,100

“It was eye-opening, comparing the data on the workplaces that most commonly experience injuries according to factors such as sector, occupation, and US State,” says Schmidt & Clark’s Collen Clark. “We hope that our findings help create awareness of the problem of injury at work so that every employee has a safe work environment.”