Workplace injuries and accidents that cause employees to miss six or more days of work cost U.S. employers nearly $62 billion in 2013, the most recent year for which statistically valid injury data is available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Academy of Social Insurance, according to the 2016 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. That is more than $1billion per week spent on the most disabling, nonfatal workplace injuries.
The 10 leading causes of the most disabling work-related injuries account for more than $51 billion, or 82.5 percent of the total cost of $62 billion. Overexertion, the No. 1 cause of serious or disabling workplace injuries, accounted for nearly 25 percent of the total.