title: Occupational injuries in Ohio wood product manufacturing: a descriptive analysis with emphasis on saw-related injuries and associated causes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stationary sawing machinery is often a basic tool in the wood product manufacturing industry and was the source for over 2,500 injury/illness events that resulted in days away from work in 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined 9 years of workers' compensation claims for the state of Ohio in wood product manufacturing with specific attention to saw-related claims. For the study period, 8,547 claims were evaluated; from this group, 716 saw-related cases were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sawmills and wood preservation sub-sector experienced a 71% reduction in average incidence rate and an 87% reduction in average lost-time incidence rate from 2001 to 2009. The top three injury category descriptions for lost-time incidents within saw-related claims were fracture (35.8%), open wounds (29.6%), and amputation (14.8%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For saw-related injuries, preventing blade contact remains important but securing the work piece to prevent kickback is also important.
authors.affiliation: Emory Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory Center for Injury Control, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beery
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Current
authors.forename: Alfred A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Amendola
authors.forename: Alysha R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Meyers
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wurzelbacher
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lampl
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bertke
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000639:trends*; D000673:Amputation, Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D022125:Lacerations / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008328:Man-Machine Systems; D066192:Manufacturing Industry / Q000145:classification / Q000639:trends*; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009820:Ohio / Q000453:epidemiology; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014934:Wood; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: blade; kickback; machine safety; saws; wood