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Understanding the drivers of serious injuries by industry
Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index


Produced annually, the Liberty Mutual 2019 Workplace Safety Index identifies the leading causes of the most disabling non-fatal workplace injuries (resulting in more than five days of lost time) and ranks them by total Workers' Compensation costs. While the findings have always provided insight into critical risk areas so businesses can better allocate safety resources, this year's report delves deeper by reporting the causes and costs of the most serious workplace injuries by eight industries.

U.S. companies lose more than $1 billion per week due to workplace injuries, according to the report that is based on data from Liberty Mutual, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Academy of Social Insurance. The top causes of the most serious workplace injuries have been stable over the past several years, with overexertion (lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, carrying) and falls from the same level topping the list. Here are the top ten causes and their costs:

  1. Overexertion involving outside sources. Cost: $13.1 billion
  2. Falls on the same floor level. Cost: $10.4 billion
  3. Struck by object or equipment including falling objects from above. Cost: $5.2 billion
  4. Falls to lower level from a ladder or platform. Cost: $4.9 billion
  5. Other exertions or bodily reactions from activities (crawling, reaching, bending, twisting, climbing, kneeling, or walking). Cost: $3.7 billion
  6. Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle. Cost: $2.7 billion
  7. Slip or trip without fall. Cost: $2.2 billion
  8. Caught in or compressed by equipment or object. Cost: $1.9 billion
  9. Repetitive motions involving microtasks, such as working on an assembly line. Cost: $1.63 billion
  10. Struck against object or equipment. Cost: $1.2 billion

Even when broken down by eight industry sectors, there was consistency with overexertion and falls on the same level in the top five causes for each of the sectors. Here are the industry results:

Construction - $9.87 billion in losses ($189.81 million a week)

  1. Falls to a lower level
  2. Struck by object or equipment
  3. Overexertion involving outside sources
  4. Falls on the same level
  5. Slip or trip without a fall

Professional and business services - $7.86 billion in losses ($151.15 million a week)

  1. Falls on the same level
  2. Overexertion involving outside sources
  3. Falls to a lower level
  4. Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle
  5. Struck by object or equipment

Manufacturing- $7.62 billion in losses ($146.54 million a week)

  1. Overexertion involving outside sources
  2. Falls on the same level
  3. Struck by object or equipment
  4. Caught in or compressed by equipment or object
  5. Repetitive motions involving microtasks

Health care and social services - $5.17 billion in losses ($99.42 million a week)

  1. Overexertion involving outside sources
  2. Falls on the same level
  3. Intentional injury by person
  4. Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle
  5. Other exertions or bodily reactions

Retail - $5.09 billion in losses ($97.88 million a week)

  1. Overexertion involving outside sources
  2. Falls on the same level
  3. Struck by object or equipment
  4. Other exertions or bodily reactions
  5. Falls to a lower level

Transportation and warehousing - $4.37 billion in losses ($84.04 million a week)

  1. Overexertion involving outside sources
  2. Falls on the same level
  3. Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle
  4. Other exertions or bodily reactions
  5. Falls to a lower level

Wholesale - $4.04 billion in losses ($77.69 million a week)

  1. Overexertion involving outside sources
  2. Struck by object or equipment
  3. Falls to a lower level
  4. Falls on the same level
  5. Other exertions or bodily reactions

Leisure and hospitality - $3.46 billion in losses ($66.54 million a week)

  1. Falls on the same level
  2. Overexertion involving outside sources
  3. Struck by object or equipment
  4. Struck against object or equipment
  5. Other exertions or bodily reactions

While James Merendino, Vice President and General Manager at Liberty Mutual Insurance, acknowledges that efforts to improve safety need to be based on a specific employer's operations and employees, he says there are three techniques that have proven successful in improving safety in a variety of industries.