More than a third of U.S. workers get hurt during the first year of employment, according to a report by Travelers.
Thirty-five percent of workplace injuries happen during the initial 12 months, the data showed, resulting in over six million missed workdays. At the same time, first-year injuries make up 32% of all workers compensation claim costs.
Industries most affected by first-year injuries:
- Restaurant and construction workers comprise 52% and 44% of claims, respectively.
- Transportation and retail workers comprise 39% of claims each.
- Services and wholesale workers comprise 35% of claims each.
- Manufacturing workers comprise 30% of claims.
“When an employee is injured, getting them back to work as soon as medically appropriate is essential to keeping a business running smoothly,” Travelers said in the report.
Other key insights from the study include:
- Construction workers compensation claims were the most expensive—almost double the all-industries average.
- While lower back injuries among wholesale employees were the most common, shoulder injuries, a close second, were the costliest of the most common injuries.
- Of the most common injuries for manufacturing workers, shoulder injuries were the most frequent and the most expensive.
- Of the most common injury causes for small business workers, slips, trips and falls were the most frequent and had the highest cost per claim.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.