Injuries Cost Businesses $1 Billion Per Week

July 21, 2020 Roberta Garthwait

According to the newly released 2020 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, workplace injuries cost U.S. businesses more than $1 billion per week.

Here is the 2020 list of the top 10 causes of disabling workplace injuries:

1. Handling objects (overexertion involving outside forces) = $13.98 billion per year
2. Falls on the same level = $10.84 billion 
3. Being hit by objects (struck by objects or equipment) = $6.12 billion
4. Falls to a lower level = $5.71 billion
5. Awkward postures (ergonomic injuries) = $4.69 billion
6. Vehicle crashes = $3.56 billion
7. Slip or trip without fall = $2.06 billion
8. Repetitive motions involving microtasks = $2.05 billion
9. Colliding with objects = $2.0 billion
10. Running equipment or machines = $1.92 billion 

The index also states that disabling workplace injuries cost businesses more than $59 billion per year. 

The annual Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index is based on information from Liberty Mutual Insurance, the BLS and the National Academy of Social Insurance. Liberty Mutual and BLS injury data are analyzed to determine which events caused employees to miss more than five 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 2020 index reflects 2017 data.