Upfront: Leading Causes of Workplace Injuries

According to Liberty Mutual's 2002 Workplace Safety Index, the direct cost of workplace injuries within the United States was $40.1 billion in 2001, up 3.6 percent from 2000. The total financial impact (including both direct and indirect costs) of on-the-job injuries last year was around $240 billion.

The employer absorbs only part of an accident's direct costs; how much it pays depends on the specifics of its workers' comp program (e.g., level of deductible, extent of self-insurance). But businesses absorb all indirect costs, including lost productivity and the cost of finding temporary workers. And indirect costs often outweigh the direct costs. Liberty Mutual estimates that the majority of injuries result in $2 to $5 of indirect costs for every dollar of direct costs.

The breakdown by injury type at right can help companies benchmark their performance against other organizations and focus safety resources where they will have the most impact.