New surveillance system helps track work-related amputations

Tumwater, WA — In an effort to better identify, develop and evaluate effective efforts to prevent amputations, Washington state has created a surveillance system intended to augment employer-reported data.

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries recently published a technical report that describes the surveillance system, which uses state workers’ compensation data.

Washington L&I says workers’ comp data provides a clearer picture of work-related amputations than data sources typically used for occupational injury surveillance, such as the federal Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, because those sources often offer limited information on specific injuries.

Workers’ comp data, Washington L&I says, allows for more extensive understanding because it:

• Is independent of employer reporting because claims are initiated by injured workers.
• Allows for the capture of information on amputations that occur not only at the time of injury but days, weeks and sometimes months afterward because of medical care.
• Includes incident, injury, worker and employer characteristics that exceed details available in most other data sources.

The report summarizes the worker, injury and employer characteristics of amputations that occurred between 2016 and 2021. Most (95%) occurred to the upper body (excluding ears, nose or decapitation), with finger and fingertip amputations accounting for 78% of all amputations. They were most common in construction, agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting, manufacturing, and accommodation/food services.

“These occupational injuries are preventable through adequately safeguarded machinery and training,” the report concludes. “Our updated surveillance methods increase the speed and detail of amputation case reporting, and will be used to inform prevention policies and programs to prevent workplace amputations.”