Occupational injuries and diseases – definitions

In many countries, injured workers might be entitled to economic compensation after an occupational injury or occupational disease. Due to this, to know the definitions of an occupational injury or occupational disease is important. A worker will not receive any compensation after an injury, unless the definitions are fulfilled. The definitions may differ from country to country, but we will describe the most common definitions here:

Occupational injury

Occupational injury: Any personal injury, disease or death resulting from an occupational accident.

Occupational accident: An unexpected and unplanned occurrence, including acts of violence, arising out of or in connection with work. Occupational accidents may also include travel, transport or road traffic accidents in which workers are injured and which arise out of or in the course of work, i.e. while engaged in an economic activity, or at work, or carrying on the business of the employer.

An occupational injury is distinct from an occupational disease, which is a disease contracted as a result of work exposure over a period of time to risk factors arising from work activity.

Occupational disease

How an occupational disease is defined varies widely globally. Even neighboring countries may have very different definitions. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has developed a list of internationally recognized occupational diseases, agreed upon by governments as well as employer and worker organizations. According to this list, occupational diseases range from illnesses caused by chemical, physical and biological agents to respiratory and skin diseases, musculoskeletal disorders and occupational cancer. The list was revised in 2010, including some mental and behavioral disorders for the first time.

According to ILO, the following apply to an occupational disease:

• There is a causal relationship with a specific agent, exposure or work process
• The disease occurs in connection with a specific work environment and/or in specific occupations
• The disease occurs among the groups of workers concerned with a frequency that exceeds the average incidence within the rest of the population
• There is scientific evidence of a clearly defined pattern of disease following exposure and plausibility of cause

Examples of diseases that might be regarded as occupational

• Diseases caused by chemical agents
• Diseases caused by physical agents
• Biological agents and infectious or parasitic diseases

Occupational diseases by target organ systems

• Respiratory diseases
• Skin diseases
• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Mental and behavioral disorders
• Occupational cancer

Reasons for having compensation systems

There are several reasons to have a compensation system related to occupational diseases. The most obvious one is for the protection of workers. If a person is harmed at work, he or she should be compensated. No workplace should produce diseased persons. Often, the diseases lead to a serious situation for the worker. He or she might not be able to continue the work due to a serious disability. Also, more work may worsen the health condition which has developed. Lung diseases due to dust exposure, for instance, may become more severe if the work and dust exposure continues. It may be necessary for the worker to leave the work situation completely to stop the disease from developing further.

Another reason for using specific definitions for occupational diseases is the fact that countries with such systems can keep better records of the incidence of given diseases. This is particularly important for situations where public social benefits are related to particular occupational diseases. It involves a national registry system and physicians in each country are most often asked to report any such cases to the national authorities. This, in turn, makes it possible to generate national statistical analyses of a country’s occupational disease situation. The statistics can be used for strategies regarding improvements in the working life both nationally and locally.

The possibility of economic compensation for the worker is a primary motivating factor for the reporting of work-related diseases. One positive benefit from such disease statistics in a country is the opportunity it provides to evaluate the need for preventive procedures at workplaces. Thus the reporting systems functions for the benefit of all workers. The compensation system may act as an indirect catalyst as incentive for establishing preventive measures. The cost of compensations for the employer and the society may highlight the need for prevention, to avoid such expenses. It is therefore highly recommended that all countries develop both compensation systems and reporting systems for occupational diseases.

See the ILO list of Occupational Diseases (2010) for more details.