The epidemiology of logging injuries in the northwest

Logging is among the most hazardous forms of employment. However, a comprehensive review of severe logging injuries and their outcome has apparently not been previously undertaken. In the present study we review 51 consecutive injured loggers requiring transfer to a regional Level I trauma center. The average age was 34 years and the mode of injury in 67% was being struck by a falling or rolling log. Orthopedic intervention was required most frequently (49%), with neurologic injury in 43%. Two patients died (4%), both secondary to severe head injury, and both survived less than 24 hours. Importantly, while most severely injured patients survived, they required long hospitalizations and had a 58% permanent disability, with more than half of these being brain or spinal cord related. Although the overall number of workers involved in logging is small, the young average age, the work years lost, and the high risk of permanent disability support continued strong efforts to improve overall safety. Particularly, the high incidence of head injury argues strongly for improved and increased use of safety helmets, which may significantly impact the mortality and morbidity of logging accidents.