Workplace Injuries Cost U.S. Companies Over $1 Billion Per Week

2018 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index Ranks the Top Ten Causes of Serious Workplace Injuries by Their Direct Cost to U.S. Businesses

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Liberty Mutual Insurance

May 08, 2018, 09:59 ET

BOSTON, May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. workplace is getting safer, but the cost of the most serious workplace injuries is rising, according to the findings of the most recent Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index.

The number of the most serious workplace injuries and illnesses fell by 1.5 percent, while their cost – medical and lost-wage payments – increased by 2.9 percent between the 2017 and 2018 reports. The rank order of the top ten causes remained the same.

The top ten causes and the direct costs of the most serious workplace injuries and illnesses – those requiring employees to miss six or more days of work - according to the 2018 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index.

"The annual ranking helps employers, risk managers and safety professionals improve workplace safety by highlighting its financial impact and focusing resources on the leading causes of serious work-related injuries and illnesses," notes James Merendino, general manager, Risk Control, National Insurance, Liberty Mutual. "While Overexertion continues to be the leading cause of serious workplace injuries, Falls account for a growing proportion of losses. To effectively improve safety, each employer needs to understand the root causes of the most serious workplace injuries they experience, and the ways to effectively mitigate these through training, equipment and work design. Insurance companies, brokers and agents can be a key resource to employers in these efforts."

Study Methodology:

The annual Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index is based on information from Liberty Mutual, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Academy of Social Insurance. Liberty Mutual and BLS injury data are analyzed to determine which events caused employees to miss six or more days of work. The Index then ranks those events by total workers compensation costs, which include medical and lost-wage payments.

To capture accurate injury cost data, each Index is based on data three years prior. Accordingly, the 2018 Index reflects 2015 data.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

Liberty Mutual's purpose is to help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow. Keeping this promise means we are there when our policyholders throughout the world need us most.

In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, Mass., today we are a leading global insurer with operations in 30 countries and economies around the world. We are the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2017 direct written premium data as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. We also rank 75th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2016 revenue. As of December 31, 2017, we had $39.4 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

We employ more than 50,000 people in over 800 offices throughout the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, commercial multi-peril, property, general liability, commercial automobile, surety, workers compensation, specialty lines, and reinsurance.

You can learn more about us by visiting www.libertymutualinsurance.com.

Contact:
Richard Angevine
617-574-6638
[email protected]

SOURCE Liberty Mutual Insurance