The research was prompted by an observation by visiting United States doctor Ethan Meisel that ED doctors seemed to be dealing with a lot of injuries from cows.
He and Dr Martin Watts studied those turning up to the ED in 2009 and were surprised to find 78 injuries directly caused by cows.
Dr Watts said the injuries were much more common than was thought.
They posed "quite an economic and social burden" too. The patients had an average of 10.4 days off work, estimated total lost wages were $86,178 and hospital costs were a further $32,884. The costs of other treatments such as general practitioners' visits and prescriptions were not included.
The research suggested that, across the country, there could be some 780 injuries of this type annually.
Dr Watts said that while much was written about cattle and serious crush injuries, there were fewer studies on the more common hand and wrist injuries.
In the study period, 45 people showed up at the department with hand or wrist injuries from kicks, which often happened at milking time.
It appeared many occurred when the milking cups were being put on the teats.
While most were soft tissue injuries, almost a quarter of the 78 cases in 2009 involved fractures.
The number of injuries was seasonal, with a peak occurring in September, coinciding with cows being brought into milk after calving, when they could be stressed and more unpredictable.
A positive steer from the research could be improved safety for dairy workers - " something as simple as a cricket glove could give some protection".
The study, partly funded by the Southland Medical Research Foundation, has been published online in Injury.
Further research into the hand and wrist injuries is expected to be published soon.
However, Dr Meisel is no longer dealing with many cattle-related injuries.
He has returned to a hospital in Chicago, where Dr Watts said he was more likely to be dealing with gunshot wounds.