The 3 Most Common Workers' Comp Injuries

With an average cost of $40,051 per claim, workers’ comp injuries can be costly for both your employees and your business. As your partner in the workers’ compensation process, your third-party administrator (TPA) can help you keep your premiums in check. Controlling your workers’ comp claims costs is one of the best ways for employers to manage their premium increases. Knowing and understanding the most costly workers’ comp injuries and how you can prevent them is critical to helping you keep your workers’ comp costs under control.

Slips, Trips, and Falls: $17.1 billion

While a simple slip or trip may not seem like a big deal, slips, trips, and falls are the most costly types of workers’ comp injuries. Same-level falls, such as slips and trips, can happen any time in any workplace – also making them the most common types of injuries. Combined with falls from a height like a ladder or a roof, these types of accidents accounted for 19.2% of all workers’ comp injury costs nationwide in 2018.

While extremely costly, these types of injuries can be easily prevented. Taking steps to ensure that the workplace is kept neat and clean, walkways are kept clear, and that workers have the right kind of fall protection gear can save your employees from serious trauma and your business from serious costs. Your TPA can help you identify opportunities for savings, give you access to BWC updates, and provide safety education. In addition to practicing better housekeeping, check out our Ladder Safety Tips to help prevent fall injuries.

Overexertion: $13.7 billion

Lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying, and throwing objects can lead to serious overexertion. These types of workers’ comp injuries are also a leading cause of lasting disability nationwide.

Accounting for 23.5% of workers’ comp costs, overexertion in the workplace can occur when the physical effort of lifting, pulling, pushing, holding, and carrying of an object results in the injury of a worker. Injuries from overexertion can be prevented or minimized by utilizing proper safety when doing physical tasks and using ergonomic equipment appropriate for the job. Within the broad category overexertion, most injuries are caused by improper lifting. Check out Ergonomics in the Workplace for more tips on how using ergonomically appropriate equipment can help reduce workplace injuries.

Struck by an object: $5.3 billion

Being struck by a falling object is one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death, especially for those in the construction industry. However, other industries aren’t immune from these types of accidents.

When workers are hit by a falling object or struck by a piece of equipment, serious injury can occur. Accounting for a little over 9% of workers’ comp injuries, these types of incidents can occur across all industries. From falling objects on a construction site to a server being struck in the face by a swinging door, taking steps to prevent these types of injuries is critical for businesses.

Advocating for you

While the Ohio BWC may not require your company to use a TPA, the cost-savings and expertise of these groups can lead to a reduction in workers’ comp injuries, an improvement in overall risk, and lower costs for your company. Partnering with a TPA is an investment in your business’s future that can create a safer workplace for your employees.

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