Construction accidents can add up in terms of profit loss and cost to victims. With results from studies in 2012, you can see how much workplace injuries cost in Maryland while understanding the impact these incidents have on workers, businesses, and families.
When you suffer an injury, you don't get to spend time at work, so you lose wages. Your business loses productivity. On top of that, a business could face fines for you injury if it was caused by poor safety protocols or other situations. How much does this cost the state and businesses within it?
In the construction industry, occupational injuries and fatalities reportedly cost $712.8 million between 2008 and 2010. Between those years, 18,600 construction injury accidents took place, and 11,000 of those resulted in workers having to stay off the job or to transfer to a different job, impacting productivity.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has estimated that workers' compensation costs are as high as $1 billion per week; this cost is paid out by employers and their insurance carriers. That cost includes direct and indirect costs; things like replacing a worker and lost productivity are indirect, while replacing damaged equipment or medical expenses are directly related to the accident.
No one wants injuries to happen, so there are some programs in place pointing out how accidents affect the workplace and profits. The OSHA has a program called "$afety Pays," which helps employers look at how injuries and illnesses have impacted their workforce and business in general. This shows how the business can increase profit by reducing injury; as a tool, this program has been aiming to help businesses see how it's better to be safe in order to protect productivity and profits.
