Definition

Hospitalizations of persons 16 years or older with burn injury as the primary diagnosis and primary payer coded as workers' compensation. ICD-9-CM codes: 940 - 949 ICD-10-CM codes: T20-T28, T30-T32

Numerator

Number of hospital discharges with primary diagnosis of burn injury and primary payer coded as workers' compensation.

Denominator

Total number of employed persons aged 16 years or older for the same calendar year.

Why Is This Important?

Work-related burns are among the most devastating injuries affecting workers. Although hospitalized burns are rare events, they are painful, disabling, and may result in significant disfigurement.

How Are We Doing?

In New Jersey (NJ) there have been over 1,000 work-related burns between 2000 and 2019. NJ annual rates ranged from 0.6-2.9 hospitalizations/100,000 workers from 2000-2019. In 2019, there were 32 work-related burn hospitalizations in NJ. Of these 29 (91%) were male and the average age was 39 years. Nine (28%) of the hospitalized individuals were White; 5 (16%) were Black; and 17 (53%) were of Hispanic origin. Of the 32 reported cases of work-related burns in 2019, 28% of the burns were to the lower limb, except ankle and foot; 22% were to the head, face, and neck; and 19% were to the shoulder and upper limb, except wrist and hand.