Liberty Mutual report calls for employers to increase vigilance about falls on the same level and roadway incidents
Produced annually, the Liberty Mutual 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 direct Workers' Compensation costs, including medical and lost-wage payments. It provides insight into critical risk areas, helping businesses to better allocate safety resources by identifying the causes and costs of the most serious workplace injuries. In addition to the overall report, there are eight industry reports - construction, healthcare and social services, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, retail, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale.
Workplace injuries cost employers more than $58 billion in annual medical costs and lost wage payments with the top 10 causes of injuries and illnesses accounting for 82.5 percent ($47.9 billion), according to the report that is based on 2021 data from Liberty Mutual, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Academy of Social Insurance.
The top ten causes are:
- Overexertion involving outside sources (carrying, holding, lifting, pulling, pushing, or throwing objects)
- Falls on the same level
- Falls to a lower level
- Struck by objects or equipment
- Other exertions or bodily reactions (awkward postures like bending and twisting, climbing, crawling, kneeling, reaching, sitting, standing, running, and walking)
- Vehicle crashes - roadway incidents involving a motorized land vehicle
- A slip or trip without a fall
- Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects
- Striking an object or equipment - hitting in-place equipment or objects
- Repetitive motions involving microtasks
While overexertion topped the list again as the costliest cause of injury in workers compensation, the report highlights a rise in falls on the same level and roadway incidents across several industries and a significant decrease in COVID-19 claims. As a result, Liberty Mutual calls for employers to heighten awareness and take proactive risk measures to prevent slips, trips, and falls on the same level and roadway incidents.
Some striking findings regarding falls on the same level:
- In construction, falls on the same level moved up from the fourth to the third most costly cause of loss.
- For the first time, same-level falls replaced overexertion injuries as the top-ranked cause of loss in health care and social assistance.
- Falls on the same level moved up from the third- to the second-ranked cause of loss in the wholesale sector.
- The injury count for falls on the same level continues to rise and is the leading cause of loss for the leisure and hospitality industry.
- Both the count and the average cost of falls on the same level increased in manufacturing.
Employers may assume that falls from heights cost companies more than falls on the same level, but this is not the case. Falls from heights were the third highest cause of disabling injuries at a cost to employers of $5.68 billion, whereas falls on the same level ranked number two with a cost of $9.9 billion. Ironically, many of the solutions are simple and low cost. These include consistent good housekeeping practices, robust maintenance of all walking surfaces, non-slip mats and flooring, appropriate footwear for the environment and task, proper lighting, clear signage, spillage control, effective removal of mud, snow, ice, or moisture, etc.
If your company is experiencing a high percentage of claims related to falls, slips, or trips on the same level, it's a good idea to take a hard look at the organization of your work areas and renew training with employees. Think about where work activities get carried out, where walkways and traffic routes are safest, and where entrance and exit points are situated. Human factors that contribute to such injuries include running, talking or texting while walking, wearing improper footwear, not using designated walkways, not slowing down and adjusting gait on slippery surfaces, and failure to cleanup and properly maintain work areas.
Liberty Mutual also urged employers to increase vigilance to prevent roadway incidents. For the first time, roadway incidents were among the wholesale industry's top five causes of loss and ranked fourth for health care and social assistance, entering the industry's top five list for the first time since 2016. They also moved up from five to four in the top-ranked causes of loss for both professional and business services and transportation and warehousing. Ongoing driver training, enforcement of safe driving policies, annual review of driving records, continuous distracted driving reminders, assessing the effectiveness of onboard technologies and transportation management systems, and a robust program for inspection, repair, and maintenance are critical to control the cost of roadway incident injuries.