All work-related injury claims
The provisional number of claims for work-related injuries that occurred in 2006 was 235,200 (as at 31 March 2007). Around 31,700 (13 percent) of these claims resulted in the payment of weekly compensation, the independence allowance, rehabilitation costs, or death benefits. The remainder resulted in the payment of medical fees only.
In 2006 there was an average of 126 work-related injury claims per 1,000 full-time equivalent workers (FTEs). The respective rates for females and males were 80 and 159 claims per 1,000 FTEs.
The total cost of treatment, compensation and rehabilitation for work-related injuries that occurred in 2006 was $225 million. This provides an average of $960 per claim.
All figures presented in this report are provisional because claims for injuries that occurred in 2006 can still be updated and filed. The number of claims, the rate of claims and the cost of claims are expected to rise as more information is received from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) in the year ahead. Final work-related injury figures (as at 31 March 2008) will be released in October 2008.
Industry
Workers in the manufacturing industry lodged 43,600 work-related claims (19 percent of all claims). This was substantially higher than the number made by workers in any other industry. Workers in the construction industry and the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry lodged the second and third highest numbers, with 26,400 and 22,900 claims, respectively. Together, these three industries accounted for 40 percent of all work-related claims, but only around 30 percent of the workforce.
The incidence rate of work-related claims was highest in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, with 177 claims per 1,000 FTEs. This was followed by the mining industry, the manufacturing industry and the construction industry, which had respective rates of 165, 165 and 152 claims per 1,000 FTEs. The finance and insurance industry had the lowest rate of 19 claims per 1,000 FTEs.
Females made more work-related claims than males in the accommodation, cafes and restaurants industry, the finance and insurance industry, the education industry and the health and community services industry. Together, these four industries accounted for only 10 percent of all work-related claims. Males lodged more claims than females in all the industries that accounted for the remaining 90 percent of claims.
Occupation
By occupation group, plant and machine operators and assemblers lodged the most claims for work-related injuries, with 42,100 claims (18 percent of all claims). The second and third highest numbers were lodged by trades workers and agriculture and fisheries workers, who made 41,400 and 33,500 claims, respectively.
Workers in the elementary occupations group had the highest incidence rate of 277 work-related injury claims per 1,000 FTEs. Agriculture and fisheries workers, and plant and machine operators and assemblers had the next highest rates, with 259 and 243 claims per 1,000 FTEs, respectively. The lowest rate was 44 claims per 1,000 FTEs, which occurred in the clerks occupation group.
Males accounted for more work-related injury claims than females in all occupation groups, with the exception of service and sales workers and clerks, where females made 59 and 57 percent of claims, respectively. Males made 96 percent of all claims by trades workers, 89 percent of all claims by plant and machine operators and assemblers and 77 percent of all claims by agriculture and fishery workers. As noted above, these three occupation groups accounted for the greatest proportion of work-related claims.
Males accounted for more work-related injury claims than females in all occupation groups, with the exception of service and sales workers and clerks, where females made 59 and 57 percent of claims, respectively. Males made 96 percent of all claims by trades workers, 89 percent of all claims by plant and machine operators and assemblers and 77 percent of all claims by agriculture and fishery workers. As noted above, these three occupation groups accounted for the greatest proportion of work-related claims.
Age
Workers aged between 35 and 44 years made more claims for work-related injuries than any other age group, with 55,100 claims (23 percent of all claims). This was closely followed by workers aged between 45 to 54 years, who made 51,100 claims (22 percent of all claims).
Although workers aged 65 years and over made only 4 percent of all claims (9,100 claims), this age group had the highest incidence rate of 199 claims per 1,000 FTEs. Workers aged between 15 and 24 years had the second highest rate, with 149 claims per 1,000 FTEs.
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As was the case for all workers, a high proportion of those aged 65 years and over who made claims worked in industries associated with physically demanding work. Specifically, of those who made claims, 22 percent worked in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, 14 percent in manufacturing and 10 percent in construction. By comparison, 15 percent of those aged 65 years and over worked in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, while 13 and 6 percent worked in manufacturing and construction, respectively.
By occupation group, 16 percent of those aged 65 years and over were classified as agriculture and fisheries workers, but these workers accounted for 25 percent of all claims within this age group. Similarly, 10 percent were trades workers, and 8 percent were plant and machine operators and assemblers, but these two occupation groups accounted for 12 and 15 percent of all claims lodged by those aged 65 years and over, respectively.
It should be noted that the large majority (86 percent) of the claims made by workers aged 65 years and over were for males, and there were some significant differences between males and females in the distribution of claims by industry and occupation. While similar percentages of males and females aged 65 years and over who made claims worked in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, the next highest percentage of males worked in manufacturing (15 percent), while the next highest percentage of females worked in health and community services (14 percent). When divided by occupation group, 26 percent of males aged 65 years and over who made claims were agriculture and fisheries workers, while only 10 percent of females were in this occupation group. Likewise, 17 percent of males but only 7 percent of females were in the elementary occupation group.
Geographic region
Of all work-related claims, 27 percent (64,100) were made for injuries that occurred in Auckland. This was considerably higher than the percentage of claims accounted for by any other region. However, the regions with the highest incidence rates were Bay of Plenty and Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay, which had 174 and 171 claims per 1,000 FTEs, respectively. Wellington and Auckland had the lowest rates of 69 and 110 claims per 1,000 FTEs, respectively.
Employment status
The large majority of work-related claims (195,800 or 83 percent) were lodged by employees. However, the self-employed had a considerably higher incidence rate (187 claims per 1,000 FTEs) than employees (118 claims per 1,000 FTEs).
Scene of injury
Around 92,000 claims (39 percent of all claims) were made for injuries that occurred in a commercial or service location and around 69,900 (30 percent) were made for injuries that occurred in an industrial place. Injuries that occurred on a farm accounted for a further 18,800 claims (8 percent).
Ethnicity
Europeans lodged 162,900 claims for work-related injuries. This represents 69 percent of all work-related claims. Another 12 percent of claims (29,400 claims) were made by Māori. Pacific peoples and Asians lodged 5 and 4 percent of claims (12,900 and 9,700 claims), respectively.
Māori had an incidence rate of 165 claims per 1,000 FTEs, compared with 149 for Pacific peoples, 133 for Asian and 'other' ethnicities and 114 for Europeans. This is consistent with figures showing that Māori were overrepresented in the elementary and the plant and machine operators and assemblers occupational groups, both of which have high claim rates.
Type of injury
Sprains and strains accounted for 99,300 work-related claims (42 percent of all claims). This was considerably higher than the number lodged for open wounds (35,500 claims or 15 percent) and contusions (21,500 claims or 9 percent), the second and third most common types of injury resulting in a work-related claim.
Bodily location of injury
When grouped by bodily location, injuries to the wrist and hand were the most common cause for work-related claims, accounting for 42,900 claims (18 percent of all claims). This was the only marginally higher than the number for injuries to the abdomen, lower back, lumbar, spine and pelvis, which were the cause for 41,500 claims (18 percent). Injuries to the head and neck were the third most common cause, accounting for 34,400 claims (15 percent).
Claims per person
The 235,200 claims for work-related injuries that occurred in 2006 were made by 216,900 people. Most people (201,100 or 93 percent) lodged only one claim. Around 14,000 people (6 percent) lodged two claims (that is, made claims for two separate injury events). Less than one percent of those who sustained a work-related injury lodged more that two claims.
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Serious injury claims
Work-related injury claims that result in the payment of weekly compensation, the independence allowance, rehabilitation costs, or death benefits are collectively referred to as ‘entitlement claims’. These claims are associated with more severe injuries than those that result in the payment of medical fees only. Around 31,700 entitlement claims were lodged for work-related injuries that occured in 2006, giving an incidence rate of 17 serious injury claims per 1,000 FTEs.
Industry
The highest number of injuries resulting in entitlement claims occurred in the manufacturing industry, which had 7,600 such claims (24 percent of all entitlement claims). The construction industry had the second highest number (4,500 or 14 percent), followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (4,100 or 13 percent).
The distribution of entitlement claims across industries was reasonably similar to the distribution for all claims. However, the transport and storage industry did account for a substantially higher percentage of entitlement claims (7 percent) than all work-related claims (4 percent).
Occupation
By occupation group, plant and machine operators and assemblers lodged the most entitlement claims, with 7,900 such claims (25 percent of all entitlement claims). The second and third highest numbers were made by trades workers (5,100 or 16 percent) and agriculture and fishery workers (4,600 or 15 percent). The high percentage of entitlement claims accounted for by these three occupation groups is consistent with the figures for all work-related claims.
Age
As was the case for all work-related claims, workers aged between 35 and 44 years lodged more entitlement claims than any other age group, with 7,600 claims (24 percent of all entitlement claims). The fewest claims were made by workers aged 65 years and over, who lodged 2,000 claims (6 percent).
The 65 years and over age group had an incidence rate of 45 entitlement claims per 1,000 FTEs. This was considerably higher than the incidence rate for any other age group. For instance, the second highest rate was 18 entitlement claims per 1,000 FTEs, which occured among workers aged between 55 and 64 years.
Geographic region
The highest number injuries resulting in entitlement claims occurred in Auckland, which accounted for 24 percent of such claims. However, this region had the second lowest incidence rate of 13 entitlement claims per 1,000 FTEs. Wellington had the lowest rate, with 9 entitlement claims per 1,000 FTEs. The highest rates occured in Otago/Southland and Bay of Plenty, which had 27 and 26 entitlement claims per 1,000 FTEs, respectively.
Ethnicity
Approximately 21,000 entitlement claims (66 percent of all entitlement claims) were made by Europeans. Māori had the highest incidence rate however, with 27 entitlement claims per 1,000 FTEs. The respective rates for Pacific peoples and Europeans were 19 and 15 entitlement claims per 1,000 FTEs. These figures are consistent with those reported for all work-related claims.
Type of injury
Of all entitlement claims, 11,000 (or 35 percent) were made for sprains and strains. Fractures, the second most common types of injury resulting in entitlement claims, accounted for 34,00 such claims (11 percent).
Fatal injury claims
Fatal injury claims are those claims made to ACC for deaths that resulted from either workplace injuries (for instance, a work-related fall) or occupational diseases (for instance, asbestos-related illnesses). There were eighty-one such claims lodged for injuries that occurred in 2006, and the large majority of these claims were for male fatalities. The incidence rate for 2006 was 4 fatal injury claims per 100,000 FTEs.
The construction industry had the highest number of fatal injury claims, with 23 claims (28 percent of all fatal injury claims). This was followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, which had 19 claims (24 percent). These figures parallel the high rates of claims for all work-related injury within these two industries.
By occupation group, 21 of those who died were agriculture and fisheries workers and 17 were plant and machine operators and assemblers. The remaining 43 fatal injury claims were distributed across a range of occupations.
Both the number and the incidence rate of fatal injury claims increased with age. Twenty-four claims were lodged for people aged 65 years and over, giving this age group an incidence rate of 53 fatal injury claims per 100,000 FTEs. By comparison, people aged between 55 and 64 years (the second oldest age group with the second highest number and incidence rate of fatal injury claims) accounted for 18 claims and had an incidence rate of 7 fatal injury claims per 100,000 FTEs.
Seventeen claims were lodged for work-related fatal injuries that occurred in Canterbury. The next highest numbers were in Otago/Southland and Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay, which accounted for 10 and 9 claims, respectively. Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay had the highest incidence rate of 11 fatal injury claims per 100,000 FTEs. Canterbury had 6 fatal injury claims per 100,000 FTEs, giving this region the fourth highest incidence rate.
The provisional figure for claims for fatal injuries occurring in 2006 is expected to increase in the coming year, as workers who have been seriously injured fail to recover. It should also be noted that not all work-related fatalities result in claims to ACC.
Trends in work-related claims
Final data on work-related injury claims in the period between 2002 and 2005 indicate stability in the incidence of such claims. While there was an increase in the annual number of claims and decrease in the rate of claims, these changes were both small. Specifically, the number of work-related claims rose from 240,100 claims in 2002 to 246,800 claims in 2005, while the rate dropped from 143 to 134 claims per 1,000 FTEs. This represents a 3 percent increase in the number of claims and a 6 decrease in the rate of claims over four years.
Males consistently accounted for approximately three quarters of all work-related claims between 2002 and 2005. The distribution of claims by industry, occupation, age and ethnic group also remained relatively constant over this time period.
There were 95 work-related fatal injury claims in 2002, 93 in 2003, 94 in 2004 and 92 in 2005. These figures are best interpreted with caution due to the small number of claims involved.
Industry
The manufacturing industry accounted for the highest number of claims between 2002 and 2005, despite a small drop from 49,200 claims in 2002 to 46,800 in 2005. The agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, and the construction industry had the next highest numbers, with 28,600 and 22,100 claims in 2002, and 24,900 and 25,900 claims in 2005, respectively.
The highest incidence rate occurred in the mining industry in each of the four years between 2002 and 2005, although the exact rate for this industry dropped from 234 to 201 claims per 1,000 FTEs. It should be noted however that the mining industry is relatively small. The incidence rate for this industry is therefore sensitive to small alterations in the annual number of claims.
Between 2002 and 2005 the agriculture, forestry and fishing, construction, and manufacturing industries consistently had the highest claim rates, after the mining industry.
Occupation
Across the period between 2002 and 2005 plant and machine operators and assemblers made the highest number of work-related claims. The number of claims accounted for by this occupation group rose steadily from 39,700 claims in 2002 to 45,100 in 2005. Agriculture and fisheries workers, trades workers and workers in elementary occupations accounted for the next highest numbers of claims, but the exact ordering of these occupational groups varied between individual years.
The elementary occupations group had the highest rate of work-related claims between 2002 and 2005, although the actual rate fluctuated from a high of 337 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2002 to a low of 273 in 2004. Agriculture and fishery workers, plant and machine operators and assemblers and trades workers had the next highest rates.
Age
Although the annual number of claims lodged by workers aged between 35 and 44 years decreased by 3 percent between 2002 and 2005 (from 61,300 to 59,500 claims), this age group consistently had the most claims. Workers aged between 45 to 54 years and between 25 and 34 years made the next highest numbers of claims, with 50,400 and 52,800 claims in 2002, and 52,300 and 49,500 claims in 2005, respectively.
While workers aged between 15 and 24 years, 55 and 64 years and 65 years and over made the fewest claims between 2002 and 2005, the annual number of claims lodged by each of these age groups increased over this time period. For instance, the number lodged by workers aged 65 years and over rose steadily from 6,800 claims in 2002 to 8,800 in 2005. This represents a 29 percent increase in the annual number of claims for this age group.
In the period between 2002 and 2005 workers aged 65 years and over had the highest rate of work-related claims, with 228 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2002 and 217 in 2005. Workers aged between 15 and 24 years had the next highest rates, with 166 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2002 and 165 in 2005. Claim rates decreased for all age groups over the time period assessed.
Geographic region
Auckland consistently had the highest number of injuries resulting in work-related claims, accounting for 61,800 claims in 2002 and 67,100 in 2005. Canterbury had the next highest numbers, with 35,600 claims in 2002 and 37,000 in 2005.
There were a number of shifts in the rates of work-related claims for individual regions between 2002 and 2005. For instance, the Bay of Plenty jumped from having the fourth highest rate in 2002 (with 171 claims per 1,000 FTEs) to having the highest rate in 2005 (201). However, the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay, Northland and Waikato had comparatively high claim rates in each of the four years assessed. Wellington and Auckland had the lowest rates, with 82 and 118 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2002, and 76 and 119 in 2005, respectively.
Ethnicity
Europeans lodged substantially more work-related claims than any other ethnic group in each of the four years between 2002 and 2005. However, this was the only ethnic group to experience a decrease in the number of claims (from 176,400 in 2002 to 172,200 in 2005). The annual number of claims made by Māori rose steadily from 29,400 in 2002 to 31,200 in 2005. The number lodged by Pacific peoples rose from 10,900 to 12,900, and the number lodged by Asians rose from 6,200 to 9,100.
Between 2002 and 2005 the rate of claims dropped for Europeans, but rose for Māori, Pacific peoples and Asian and 'other' ethnicities. It should be noted, however, that these changes were small and varied. For instance, the rate among Māori rose from a low of 182 claims per 1,000 FTEs in 2002 to a peak of 191 in 2004, and then dropped to 185 in 2005. Despite these fluctuations, Māori consistently had the highest claim rate, followed by Pacific peoples and Asian and 'other' ethnicities.
Final work-related injury figures for 2005
Final work-related injury figures for 2005 (as at 31 March 2007) are now available and are included in this Hot off the Press release. The final figures for the three years between 2002 and 2004 used in this release can be found in the Claims for Work-Related Injuries (2005) report, published last year.
For technical information contact:
Brian Cosgriff
Wellington 04 931 4173
Email: info@stats.govt.nz
Next release...
Injury Statistics – Work-related Claims: 2008 will be released in October 2009.