Article

The primary objective of this study was to describe the injury characteristics
and demographics of patients injured during woodworking activities, upon their
arrival to the emergency department in a regional of France where this industry
is prevalent. The secondary objective was to compare patient and injury
characteristics for work-related and hobby-related accidents.
A cohort of 87
patients who had suffered a woodworking accident over a two-year period was
evaluated; 79 were available for follow-up. The context and circumstances of the
accident, nature and location of the injuries and patient demographics were
recorded. Hobby-related accidents accounted for two-thirds of the accidents
(51/79). Most of the injured workers were either loggers (35%) or carpenters
(46%). The hand was injured in 53 cases (67%). Work-related accidents resulted in
significantly more serious consequences in terms of hospital stay, work stoppage,
resumption of work or retraining than hobby-related accidents. For the workplace
accidents, 86% occurred on new machines; more than 25% of the machines involved
in accidents at home were over 15 years. Sixty-eight per cent of workers were
wearing their safety gear, while only 31% of those injured during recreational
woodworking wore the appropriate gear. Several elements of prevention should be
improved: information about the need to maintain the equipment, protect the
worker with suitable clothing, and learn which maneuvers are considered
hazardous. Safety gear should be regularly inspected in the workplace.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014. Published by Elsevier SAS.

Langue : ANGLAIS