When an employee gets injured on the job, the company also suffers. The company gets affected financially. It has to pay for medical insurance, workers compensation insurance, and fees for temporary help. Bosses will have to deal with the loss of productivity, and the legal ramifications involved. The situation gets even more complicated if the company is negligent.
Financial Burden on the Company
The economic costs fall into two categories. There is a direct and indirect cost to the organization. Direct costs involve workers compensation payments, medical expenses, and cost of legal services.
The indirect costs to the employer include training someone new to replace the injured employee, accident investigation, and implementation of new sets of guidelines.
Other indirect costs could be repairs of damaged equipment and property and costs associated with low employee morale and absenteeism.
According to statistics, the estimated cost of workers compensation claims for most disabling workplace injuries in the U.S. totaled $48.6 billion in 2006. If the company is into construction, studies show that it costs more when a roofer or a carpenter suffers a fall.
Statistics show that in 2004, the total economic cost of occupational death and injuries estimated to be $142.2 billion.
Loss of Productivity
The business also experiences loss of productivity. Due to the employee’s injury, someone else in the department will have to share duties until the owner finds a temporary replacement for the injured employee.
In some instances, companies hire temporary workers. It takes much time to train someone new, and it costs money.
The situation gets otherwise compounded when no one else in the company has the necessary skills to fill the position. Every day that passes without the work getting done is a loss of revenue for the business.
One other factor to take into consideration is that sometimes the injured employee does not want to return to work. This scenario is detrimental to the business especially if the injured employee has a unique skill set.
The company will then have to pay for recruitment costs as well as training for the new employee. Training takes valuable time away from a business that is lacking the necessary help that it needs.
According to OSHA, the costs attributed to the loss of productivity due to workplace injuries totaled $60 billion each year.
Legal Issues
If the company does not have workers compensation set in place, the cost to the company could be astronomical. A company that lacks workers compensation gets categorized as negligent. In some instances, the company would have to pay an enormous settlement cost.
That is why workers compensation insurance is crucial. Additionally, not all injuries will get covered under workers compensation insurance. For example, independent contractors are not considered employees, so they will not get workers compensation coverage.
Sometimes an employee reports a false claim. Such claims might increase a company’s workers compensation costs. It is best not to ignore such claims. Consult with an attorney to help protect the company.
According to Eric Harron, a personal injury lawyer in Austin Texas, the added stress of handling a legal claim can be overwhelming coupled with the loss of productivity.
OSHA Guidelines
Companies can help lesson workplace injuries by adhering to OSHA prevention programs. The program helps employers to decrease workplace injuries by putting certain guidelines into practice.
For example, the company needs to pinpoint anything that is hazardous within the organization. Educate employees on the hazards, and put preventative measures in place.
In conclusion, the impact injured employees have on business in enormous. The company incurs financial loss, productivity gets lowered, and there are legal issues to consider.
Businesses can take the necessary precautions by adhering to the OSHA prevention programs to help decrease workplace accidents.
