Law Enforcement face serious risk of injury each day just as other occupations such as operational work, chemical operations, and firefighting.
In this case, non- fatal injuries are very common.
Causes of Non-Fatal Officer Injuries
According to a study published by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, officers are three times more likely to suffer non-fatal injuries on the job than all other U.S. workers. The report provided a detailed analysis of the types of injuries suffered by law enforcement officers between the time periods of 2003 – 2014.
In total, 669,100 law enforcement officers were treated in emergency rooms from 2003-2014.
The leading cause of non-fatal injury was “assaults and violent acts” which accounted for 36% of all injuries reported.
The second leading cause of non-fatal injury was “body motion injury” (15%), which includes injury from physical overexertion or motion repetition.
Other leading causes of injury over the decade included falls (11%) and transportation incidents (14%).
A Delaware Perspective
Patrick Wenk, attorney at Kimmel Carter, was a Delaware State Trooper for 20 years. Attorney Wenk notes that in his experience, the type of activities that cause the most injures include: suspect interactions, vehicle crashes, slip and falls, and cuts, scrapes, and puncture injuries.
His personal experience falls in line with the NIOSH study highlighted above.
Kimmel Carter is Delaware’s largest personal injury and workers’ compensation law firm.
If you have been injured in a work accident, or due to another’s negligence, call Kimmel Carter at 302-565-6100 to schedule your free case review.
