The current research aims at characterizing work related accidents among workers under the Brazilian legal labor system for private and public organizations. The study was based on database (years 2000 to 2005) from an annual publication on work accidents issued by a Brazilian public university located in the countryside of the state of Minas Gerais. During the above mentioned period there were 1,008 reported work related accidents. Most of them happened at the University Hospital, among the nursing staff (69.94%), in contact with sharp-edged material and mucouse and skin exposition (60.32%). The most affected parts of the body were the superior limbs (61.14%). As a consequence, 18.07% of the workers were unable to continue working. The results indicated that most of the accidents were registered as personal errors (85%), what indicates the necessity to implement new methods on work accident analysis to investigate their real causes.
work accidents; worker's health; hospital
