Injuries of various kinds account for about one-third of all claims, marine insurer Gard has stated in its “Crew Claims Report 2024”.
“The average claim amount for an injury is usually higher than for illness claims. This may be due to the urgency of the treatment required in connection with injuries, which could sometimes require significant diversion of the vessel or medial evacuation at sea.
The most common body part to be injured in the 2019-2023 period – and by a large margin – were the fingers of seafarers. These accounted for just over 800 claims. Additionally, hand-related injuries (counted separately from finger-injuries) accounted for just over 300 claims. Gard noted that it sees relatively high numbers of crush injuries, such as fingers getting crushed in hatch covers or machinery.
In a related, 2020 report, Gard looked at data over a ten year period (2009-2018) and found that the majority of finger and hand injuries, about 39%, happen to able bodied seafarers. That was followed by OS (19%), and fitters, (17%). Officers also experienced high rates of finger / hand injuries with 2nd engineers account for just under one third of all finger / hand injuries, followed by third engineers at just over one quarter, and then electricians at 16%.
“There can be many reasons for finger injuries. The level of awareness and alertness of the crew when carrying out jobs requiring physical dexterity are important factors. Awareness comes with experience, knowledge and proper supervision by those who may have carried out such tasks in the past. Alertness, on the other hand, can vary with the time of the day or physical and mental fatigue of the individual involved in the task,” Gard noted.
In the earlier 2020 report, Gard urged crew to wear gloves – but to first identify what the most likely hazard would be – such as abrasion, cuts, puncture etc, and to chose the right glove for the task and hazard e.g. leather goods to handle sharp objects, rubber / PVC / synthetic gloves when handling chemicals and so on. Gard also cautioned that wearing separate cotton inner gloves can help prevent hand-skin becoming hot and sweaty, which can lead to skin health issues over time.
Other common injuries included injuries to the back (just over 500) and to the knee and leg (just over and under 300 respectively).
The most common causes of injuries were slips, trips and falls (38%) and that was followed by being hit by some kind of object (including wires and lines), which accounted for about 24% of claims. Meanwhile, lift / pull / push injuries were the third most common injuries at 15% of all claims.
Gard examined more than 20,000 people-related claims between 2019-2023 and focused on crew-related claims (i.e. excluding non-seafarer related claims). People-related claims over the period accounted for about 49% of all claims, and that was followed some distance behind with cargo-related claims with 38% of claims over the period.
