Employers in 2003 paid $50.8 billion for wages and medical care of injured employees in a year when the growth in serious workplace injury costs declined by 0.7 percent, according to studies by an insurer.

Boston-based Liberty Mutual said the heavy cost impact on businesses came despite a 6.2 percent decline in serious workplace injuries during 2003.

Liberty Mutual announced its findings last week at the National Safety Council's World Safety Congress and Expo.

The company said the studies would help employers understand where and why workers are hurt. The findings, Liberty Mutual added, are based on company data and information, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

In addition, a survey of chief financial officers questioned 231 senior financial executives at large and mid-size companies about safety and insurance issues.

Liberty Mutual researchers said that in first place as the top cause of workplace injuries, accounting for 26 percent of such accidents, are those resulting from "overexertion"==defined as excessive lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, carrying or throwing of an object. Total cost to employers for this category of injury was $13.4 billion in 2003, Liberty reported.

The top 10 listed causes, in order, were:

o Overexertion==26 percent.

o Falls on same level==13.7 percent.

o Bodily reaction==10.2 percent.

o Falls to lower level==9 percent.

o Struck by object==8.5 percent.

o Repetitive motion==5.9 percent.

o Highway accident==5.8 percent.

o Struck against object==4.4 percent.

o Caught in or compressed by equipment==3.9 percent.

o Assaults and violent acts==0.8 percent.

"All other causes" accounted for 11.3 percent of the losses.

Liberty Mutual said its rankings of the top 10 causes of serious injuries have been consistent over the past five years, pointing to areas for making the workplace safer.

Researchers found that the cost of injuries classified as "bodily reaction"==involving bending, climbing, slipping or tripping without falling==dropped 4.7 percent, driven by an 11.6 percent decline in the number of these accidents

They reported the cost of injuries to workers struck by falling objects fell 3.4 percent, because of a 12.5 percent decline in the number of these injuries.

Researchers said the cost of highway incidents grew 12.8 percent, despite a 4 percent drop in the number of these accidents, while the cost of "falls on the same level" grew 10.4 percent==almost one-third of its total five-year growth

Their studies found over 60 percent of senior financial executives report that each $1 invested in injury prevention returns $2 or more. More than 40 percent of the executives cited productivity as the top benefit of workplace safety programs and most frequently mentioned better training as their preferred safety intervention:

The financial impact of workplace injuries, according to the studies, grew almost $1 billion per year between 1998 and 2003, when adjusted for inflation.

Findings from the studies can be seen at www.libertymutual.com.

Special Reports /

Employee Injuries Cost Over $50B In 03

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