Cost of Workplace Accidents

Accidents can happen anytime in the workplace, but the first step in preventing them is to properly train your employees and ensure that refresher courses, especially those in a comprehensible, SCORM compliant e-learning format, are available to them on a regular basis.

Workplace accidents are far more expensive than one would expect. While Workers’ Compensation claims cover medical costs and indemnity payments for an injured worker, there are also direct costs of accidents and the possibility of legal fees in special circumstances. Accidents in the workplace go beyond the costs of medical care for injured employees and damaged equipment, but affect the attitude and morale of the company as well. Family members of an injured employee are affected. There’s a possibility of schedule delays on projects and added administrative duties. Then there’s the cost of hiring and training a new employee to possess the same skills set as the injured worker.

According to a case study by Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance, the average cost of a lost-time claim is over $20,000. Huge losses like this could be easily avoided by implementing a commitment to workplace safety and ensuring that workers are educated with the most current and up-to-date training materials.