Here are more details you should know about injuries on the job:
Injury Impact Report
Recently workers’ compensation insurer giant Travelers Insurance released its Injury Impact Report on workplace injury statistics after a five-year study of workers’ compensation claims involving 1.5 million employees. The purpose was to assess health care costs and how injuries happen. Here are leading reasons for claims:
- Serious injuries that require medical treatment and wage compensation
- Conditions that require vocational rehabilitation
- Occupational disease from the previous job
- Inflammation, leading to lost wages from an average of 91 days off
- Fractures leading to about 78 days off
- Sprains resulting in an average of 57 days off
These on-the-job accidents and diseases can involve any business. Lifting that causes strains, bruises, sprains or inflammation and the most common types of injuries that lead to workers’ compensation claims, covering about a third of all claims.
Other notable causes for filing claims include slipping, tripping and falling, particular with construction workers. Small business accidents involving tools are minor, yet still rank high.
Expensive Workplace Injury
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) reports that the overall annual cost of workplace injury claims in America is estimated at $170 billion. This figure includes about 10,000 deaths. Major injuries account for the highest costs. An amputation, for example, costs over $100,000 while limb dislocation is slightly less and electric shock treatment is about half. Sprains and strains, meanwhile, only cost $17,000. Sixty percent of workers’ compensation claims deal with medical-related costs.
