Injuries and Illness

What’s the Top Cause of Employee Injury? The Answer Might Surprise You.

An analysis of millions of workers’ compensation claims found that about a third were related to one type of activity. Keep reading to find out what it is and if your workers are at risk.

The Travelers Companies, Inc., the country’s largest workers’ compensation carrier, released its Injury Impact Report, which identifies the most common causes of occupational accidents and injuries. The company analyzed more than 1.5 million compensation claims filed over a four-year period from a variety of businesses. The most frequent causes of workplace injuries were:

  • Material handling—32 percent of total claims.
  • Slips, trips, and falls—16 percent of total claims.
  • Being struck by or colliding with an object—10 percent of total claims.
  • Accidents involving tools—7 percent of total claims.
  • Trauma occurring over time, such as when a body part is injured by overuse or strain—4 percent of total claims.

Read more.

Print

3 thoughts on “What’s the Top Cause of Employee Injury? The Answer Might Surprise You.”

  1. I have read about OSHA rules and employees right on reporting of injuries and illness.

    Can an employer punish an employee on a reported injury when the cause is attributed to negligence on the part of the employee. On punishment I mean, a warning letter or even dismissal

    1. Tricky question. Do you enforce Life Safety Rules? If someone bypasses a guard or doesn’t do a lo/to, are they fired? OSHA and attys. will look for precedence. You must treat everyone equally. Are the Safety rules explained clearly at new hire orientation and again yearly? This is not required, but if you want to hold employees accountable, they have to be retrained that safety is their responsibility. If two employees get hurt doing the same thing, and you write up one, and not the other, you are in violation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.