Here Are Your Most Costly Workplace Injuries, Study Says

The most costly workplace injuries by body part, cause and nature are examined in a study that pulled data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance.

The study was conducted by Richmond Vona, which is a personal injury law firm in Buffalo, New York.

It defines compensation payouts to include medical costs and indemnity costs as well.

Let’s take a dive into some of the numbers.

Most costly workplace injuries: Let’s talk body parts

Ever wonder which body part leads to the highest payout when injured? According to this study, the workplace injury with the highest compensation payout in terms of body part is a head/central nervous system injury.

The study reports that these injuries result in $60,722 in medical costs in addition to $33,563 in indemnity costs, for a total payout of $94,285.

Here are your top 10

In terms of body part, rounding out the top 10 most expensive workplace injuries are the following, the study says:

• Neck injuries come in at number two, with a total payout amount of $65,659.
• Third on the list is injuries to multiple body parts, with a payout of $62,257.
• Leg injuries ranked fourth in the study, with a payout of $60,901.
• Next up are hip/thigh/pelvis injuries, with a payout of $60,155.
• Injuries to arms and shoulders ranked sixth, with a payout of $49,838.
• Seventh was lower back injuries, with a payout of $39,328.
• Following closely was upper back injuries, with a payout of $35,439.
• Knee injuries claimed the number nine spot, with a payout of $35,322.
• Tenth on the list was face injuries, with a payout of $33,635.

The costly workplace injuries: What causes them?

The study also took a look at workplace injuries by cause, with the highest compensation payouts.

On that count, injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents produced the highest compensation payouts, the study said. Those payouts included medical costs of $49,395 plus indemnity costs of $39,757, for a total payout of $89,152.

The study’s numbers relating to causation rank the following as the rest of the top 10:

• Burn injuries ranked second, with medical costs of $34,674 and indemnity costs of $17,487, for a total payout of $52,161.
• Third on the causation list was fall/slip injuries, which produced a payout of $49,971.
• Fourth was being caught by an object or machine, resulting in a payout of $47,076.
• Being struck by an object came in as number five, with a payout of $40,104.
• At number six were strain injuries, with a payout of $36,200.
• Seventh on the list was what the study called cumulative injuries, with a payout of $33,909.
• “Striking against” is listed as number eight, with a payout of $31,150.
• Ninth was miscellaneous causes, with a payout of $24,525.
• Injuries consisting of cuts/punches/scrape rounded out the top 10, with a payout of $24,250.

Last but not least: Injuries by nature

Finally, the study took a look at workplace injuries by nature.

First on that list were amputations, which produced $89,743 in medical bills in addition to $36,290 in indemnity costs for a total payout of $126,033.

Here are the rest of the top 10 injuries by nature, according to the study’s data:

• Ranking second was the vague category of “other types of trauma,” which produced a total payout of $63,044.
• Third was fracture/crush/dislocation injuries, with a payout number of $62,240.
• Burns were ranked fourth, with a payout of $52,222.
• “Infection/inflammation” was listed fifth, with a payout amount of $39.056.
• Sixth was sprain/strain injuries, with a total payout of $34,293.
• At number seven was carpal tunnel, with a payout of $34,055.
• Eighth on the list is contusion/concussion injuries, with a payout of $33,697.
• At number nine is lacerate/puncture/rupture injuries, with a payout of $33,146.
• Finally, the study lists “occupational disease/cumulative injury,” with a payout of $16,763.