WRMSD Cost of Injury
Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Requiring Days Away From Work, 2015 (pdf)
Summary:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 650,000 work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs), resulting in costs to employers of over 20 billion dollars. These costs include Worker’s Compensation and medical expenses, the latter of which are increasing 2.5 times faster than benefit costs.
- $1 of every $3 of Worker’s Compensation costs are spent on occupational musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
- Employers pay $15-20 billion per year in Worker’s Compensation costs for lost workdays.
- Mean costs per case of upper extremity MSD are $8,070 versus a mean cost of $4,075 per case for all types of work-related injury.
- Worker’s Compensation claims per injury equal $29,000 – $32,000 per year.
- Medical bills for the average shoulder injury (excluding surgery) are $20,000 per year.
Indirect costs are 3 to 5 times higher, reaching approximately $150 billion per year.
Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders & Ergonomics
Summary highlights:
- MSDs are the leading cause of pain, suffering and disability in American workplaces.
- MSDs have a huge financial burden, but the human costs are the best motivation for prevention.
- MSDs account for one-third of all workers compensation costs.
- MSDs account for almost 400,000 injuries every year.
- Direct costs of MSDs are $20 billion a year. Total costs are estimated to be between $45-54 billion.
- Indirect costs (lost productivity, product defects, etc.) of an MSD case can be up to five times the direct costs.
- MSD cases require 38% more lost time days than the average injury/illness.
- Your company needs to generate over $8 million in additional sales to cover $260,000 in MSD costs.