The Travelers Cos. recently released its “Injury Impact Report,” which identifies the most common causes of workplace accidents and injuries.
The New York City-based insurance giant analyzed more than 1.5 million workers compensation claims filed between 2010 and 2014 from a variety of business sizes and industries and found the top five most common workplace accidents and the top injuries resulting from those accidents.
Strains, sprains, cuts, punctures, contusions, inflammation, fractures or chronic sicknesses resulting from a type of work (e.g., a skin disease caused by chemical exposure) were the most common injuries. (See chart on the right. Click to enlarge.)
On average, strains and sprains resulted in 57 missed work days, followed by cuts and punctures at 24 days. Of the most commonly-resulting injuries, inflammation and fractures caused the most time away from work at 91 and 78 days, respectively.
According to the report, the costliest injuries were amputations, which had the highest average cost per claim of $102,500.
Dislocation was second costliest at $97,100. Electric shock was third ($55,200), crushing was fourth ($54,600) and multiple trauma, the fifth costliest at $50,000. (See chart on left. Click to enlarge.)
By contrast, the average claim cost per injury for the most frequently occurring injuries ranged from $8,000 to $42,400 per claim.
Here are the top 5 most common workplace accidents, according to Travelers:
(Photo: iStock)
|5. Traumas occurring over time: 4%
An example is when a part of the body is injured by overuse or strain.
(Photo: iStock)
|3. Being struck by or colliding with an object: 10%
Related: How small businesses can reduce their Workers' Comp risk
(Photo: iStock)
|1. Material handling: 32%
This handling includes lifting, lowering, filling, emptying or carrying an item.
Read the full report from Travelers.
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