OSHA cites huge cost of workplace injuries. The solution? Prevent them.

Every year, more than 3 million workers are seriously injured, and thousands more are killed on the job. In a new report, OSHA details the enormous financial and social cost of these injuries, which are largely borne by workers, their families, and taxpayers. 

In the report, Adding Inequality to Injury: The Costs of Failing to Protect Workers on the Job, OSHA says a worker who is seriously injured will earn 15 percent less over a 10-year period and will bear 50 percent of the costs associated with that injury.

OSHA administrator David Michaels, PhD, notes, “These injuries and illnesses add to the pressing issue of income inequality because they force working families out of the middle class and into poverty, and keep the families of lower-wage workers from ever getting out.”

In theory, workers’ compensation covers lost wages, medical expenses, rehabilitation, and other injury costs. But the coverage is actually quite limited. OSHA says that workers’ compensation payments typically cover only about 21 percent of lost wages and medical costs associated with injuries and illnesses. The rest must be paid by workers, private health insurance, and taxpayers through programs like disability subsidies. Moreover, studies show that only about 40 percent of eligible workers apply for workers’ compensation benefits at all.

Another issue is the increased employment of temporary workers, which OSHA says increases the risk of injuries. Injured temporary workers tend to lose more days from work than other workers while receiving less medical and time loss reimbursement. As well, temps are often more hesitant to report their injuries and claim compensation out of concern that a staffing agency will not assign them additional work.

Prevention is the solution to the problem of injury cost

OSHA concludes that the cost-effective solution to the economic burden of workplace injuries is preventing them. A reduction in incidents would also have a significant impact on healthcare system costs, reducing expenditures for hospitalizations and other care.

Although the number of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities has declined dramatically since 1970, the year OSHA was formed, the report suggests that much more must be done. Employers must reduce risk, and states should eliminate roadblocks that prevent workers with compensable injuries or illnesses from receiving full benefits.