Pennsylvania workers may be interested to learn the results of Liberty Mutual’s 2016 Workplace Safety Index, which was released on Jan. 14. The report emphasizes that overexertion injuries continue to be a frequent and expensive source of disabling injuries in the workplace. In addition, several other types of injuries are cited that are worth taking the time to understand.
The report summarizes data that was collected in 2013 and shows that businesses incurred a total cost of $61.88 billion associated with disabling injury claims. Of that total, nearly 25 percent were related to overexertion . In addition to the Liberty Mutual report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported that overexertion injuries are a primary source of workplace incidents and accounted for 32 percent of the illness and injury cases in 2014.
The Liberty Mutual report states that overexertion injuries caused businesses $15.08 billion in direct costs and were the most expensive kind of workplace injury in 2013. Falls from the same and to lower levels were the second and third highest sources, costing businesses $10.7 billion and $5.4 billion respectively, while workers struck by objects or equipment cost businesses $5.31 billion.
Someone who has suffered a work-related injury may wish to seek out legal representation before taking further action. Since accepting workers’ compensation benefits can prevent an employee from pursuing litigation against their employer at a later date, it may not always be in the employee’s best interest to do so. A lawyer can often provide advice as to which form of redress to seek.