Work-related injuries are injuries that occur on the job and as a direct result of the duties assigned to the specific job position. Work-related injuries are typically physical. However, there are occasions in which the employee may contract a disease or illness while at work, known as a work-related illness. If an employee can prove that his injury or illness occurred at work, he may be covered by worker’s compensation.
Workplace injuries can affect people in all lines of work, of all ages and of all ethnic and economic backgrounds, as these work injury statistics show:

• Each year, more than 4.1 million people in the United States suffer a workplace injury or occupational illness
• The injury rate is about 4.4 cases per 100 full-time workers.
• More than 2 million workers are injured severely enough on the job that they miss work and need ongoing medical care.
• More workplace injures happen at mid-size companies (with between 50 and 249 workers) than at any other size business.
• Small companies with fewer than 11 employees report the lowest incidence of workplace injuries. 

• In the United States, 165 people die from occupational diseases every day and 18 more die from a work-related injury – equaling about 1,000 deaths per year
• Workplace deaths, illnesses and injuries cost society $155.5 billion annually
• Most workplace injuries are preventable; only about 4 percent of all work-related accidents are caused by technical issues such as faulty equipment.
• Construction is one of the most dangerous professions, with a rate of 15.2 deaths per 100,000 workers. The leading causes of death among construction workers are falls, car accidents, electrocution, machine accidents, and being struck by falling objects.
• Construction workers account for 1 in 5 workplace deaths and 1 in 10 nonfatal on-the-job injuries and illnesses in 2004.
• Car crashes are the leading cause of workplace fatalities, causing about 1,300 worker deaths each year.