EHS Management

The Extraordinary Costs of Serious Injuries

A new study of workplace incidents that cause employees to miss six or more work days is out. Keep reading to learn just how much these accidents and injuries are costing U.S. employers, including you!

According to the 2017 Liberty Mutual Insurance Workplace Safety Index, the most serious incidents cost $59.9 billion per year. While that figure does sound fairly astronomical, it actually represents a decline from $61.9 billion in 2016. The findings reflect injury data from 2014, the most recent year available.

Liberty Mutual says the 10 leading causes of these injuries account for $49.9 billion, or 83.4 percent of the total. The top three causes, which reflect half the total cost, are overexertion, falls on the same level, and falls to a lower level. The 2017 index found that overexertion decreased substantially, while falls on the same level and roadway incidents continued to trend upward.

Liberty Mutual’s Debbie Michel says these incidents impact both employees and employers. “Injured employees face potential physical, emotional, and financial harm. Employers face the direct costs of workplace injuries—medical care related to the accidents and some portion of an injured employee’s pay—and indirect costs such as hiring temporary employees, lost productivity, and quality disruptions.”

This is the 17th year Liberty Mutual has produced the report. You can view the full study at https://lmi.co/wsi.

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