Work injuries and illnesses resulting in visits to medical treatment facilities

There were 333,930 workplace injuries or illnesses in 2018 that resulted in the employee having days away from work and going to a medical treatment facility. That was 37 percent of the 900,380 cases in private industry in which an injured or ill employee needed days away from work to recover. The likelihood of visiting a medical treatment facility varies by the nature of the injury or illness.

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Chart Data Number of work injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work, by medical treatment facility visit and nature of injury or illness, 2018 Visit to medical treatment facility? Sprains, strains and tears Soreness and pain Fractures Cuts and lacerations Total cases 308,630 159,600 79,470 77,340 No medical treatment facility visit 235,790 107,370 30,970 30,550 Emergency room visit only 70,240 47,480 36,330 43,270 Hospitalization 2,600 4,760 12,170 3,520

Sprains, strains, and tears accounted for about a third of all private industry cases involving days away from work in 2018. Of these cases, 23 percent resulted in the injured or ill worker visiting an emergency room, and 1 percent resulted in hospital admission.

A total of 159,600 cases resulted in soreness and pain in 2018. Of these cases, 30 percent resulted in an emergency room visit by the injured or ill worker, and 3 percent resulted in hospitalization.

Fractures accounted for 79,470 cases with days away from work in 2018. Of these, 46 percent required a trip to the emergency room (without hospitalization) and 15 percent required hospitalization.

Cuts and lacerations resulted in 77,340 cases requiring days away from work in 2018. Of these, 56 percent resulted in a trip to the emergency room, and 5 percent resulted in admission to a hospital.

These data are from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. To learn more, see "Employer-reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses — 2018."