Back injuries are the single most common injury in the workplace. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more than 270,000 cases in 2005–nearly 22 percent of all the injuries that resulted in lost time from work.
Carriers understandably are interested in finding ways to reduce the number and severity of back injuries and the workers' compensation claims that result and not just for their own benefit. "Every claim we pay also costs employers money due to having to hire temporary workers to replace an injured worker, having to pay for additional training and certification, and general lost productivity," says John Anthony, director of the Innovation Lab at The Hartford Financial Services Group. "There's also the personal impact to the individual who is injured."
Providing workers with training on proper lifting can be effective–if employees remember to follow the advice. Anthony and his team of five Innovation Lab researchers hypothesized if there were a way to provide workers with real-time, dynamic feedback about lifting techniques, the efficacy of this training would increase.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
