Historical Perspective and Overview. Cost of Accidents Overall cost of accidents in the U.S. is approximately $150 Billion. Costs include lost wages,

Historical Perspective and Overview

Cost of Accidents

Overall cost of accidents in the U.S. is approximately $150 Billion.

Costs include lost wages, medical expenses, insurance administration, fire related loses, motor vehicle property damage, and indirect costs.

Accident Costs by Accident Types Motor Vehicle accidents

$72 Workplace accidents $48 Home accidents $18 Public accidents

$12

(in billions, in a typical year)

Accident Costs by Categories Wages lost $37 Medical expenses $24 Insurance administration $29 Property damage (motor vehicle) $27 Fire losses $10 Indirect losses $23 (in billions, in a typical year)

Accidental Deaths in the U.S. Motor vehicle accidents - leading cause

of accidental deaths (Approx 47,000). Falls - (Approx 13,000). Poisoning - liquids & solids; gasses and

vapors (Approx 6,000 & 1,000). Drowning - work-related & non-work

related (Approx 5,000).

Accidental Deaths in the U.S. Fire-related injures - burns,

asphyxiation, falls, and falling objects (Approx 4,000).

Suffocation (ingested object) - typically food (Approx 4,000).

Firearms - recreational activities (Approx 2,000).

Accidental Deaths in the U.S. Others - medical complications arising

out of mistakes made by health care professionals, air transport injures, machinery related, and the impact of falling objects (over 14,000).

Accident Versus Other Causes Although there are more deaths every

year from heart disease, cancer, and strokes than from accidents, these causes tend to be concentrated among people at or near retirement age.

Among people 37 years of age or younger, accidents are the number one cause of death.

Accident Versus Other Causes Accidents 27,500 Cancer

20,300 Motor vehicle

16,500 Heart disease

16,000 Poison (solid, liquid)

2,700

Accident Versus Other Causes Drowning

1,500 Falls

1,100 Fire related

900 (ages 25 to 44 years)

Accident Versus Other Causes Accidents represent a serious detriment

to productivity, quality, and competitiveness in today’s workplace.

Yet accidents are the one cause of death and injury that companies can most easily control.

Work Accident Costs & Rates Workplace accidents cost employers

millions every year. Work accident rates in this century are

evidence of the success of the safety movement.

Between 1912 & 1998, accidental work deaths per 100,000 population were reduced by 81%.

Work Accident Costs & Rates In 1912, an estimated 18,000 to 21,000

workers’ lives were lost. In 1998, in a workforce, more than triple

in size and producing 11 times the goods and services, their were approximately 10,000 work deaths.

Work Injures by Type of Accident Overexertion Impact accidents Falls Bodily reaction (to chemicals) Compression Motor vehicle accidents Exposure to radiation or caustics Rubbing or abrasions Exposure to extreme temperatures

Work Injures by Type of Accident Overexertion, the result of employees

working beyond their physical limits, is the leading cause of work injures (approximately 31%).

Impact accidents involve a worker being struck by or against an object.

Parts of the Body Injured Back Legs and fingers Arms and multiple parts of the body Trunk Hands Eyes, head, and feet Neck, toes, and body systems

Parts of the Body Injured The back is the most frequently injured

part of the body. This is why some employers require a

back x-ray as part of an employment physical.

Repetitive Strain/Soft-Tissue Injures Repetitive strain injury (RSI) broad and

generic term. Trauma to the soft tissues of the body,

including tendons, tendon sheaths, muscles, ligaments, joints and nerves.

Typically associated with the soft tissues of the hands, arms, neck, and shoulders.

Repetitive Strain/Soft-Tissue Injures Carpel tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the

most widely known repetitive strain injury.

The carpel tunnel is the area inside the wrist through which the median nerve passes.

Typically caused by repeated and cumulative stress on the median nerve.

Repetitive Strain/Soft-Tissue Injures Symptoms of CTS include numbness, a

tingling sensation, and pain in the fingers, hand, and/or wrist.

Evidence suggests a higher incidence of CTS among women than men.

CTS is relatively rare among RSI patients.

Cost of Accidents

One method divides the costs into insured and uninsured costs.

Insured costs are revealed by examining the the accounting records.

Uninsured costs can be found by calculating accidents in four classes.

Cost of Accidents

Other cost methods look at broad categories, lost work hours, medical costs, insurance premiums and administration, property damage, fire loses, and indirect costs.

Some professionals use the iceberg analogy - the larger part of the actual cost is hidden beneath the surface.

Global Impact of Accidents & Injures Many developing countries lack a safety

and health infrastructure. Occupational injures in developing

countries are more prevalent in mining, construction, and agriculture.

More than half of the retirements are taken early because of work-related disabilities rather than normal retirement.