Work-related accidents or diseases are very costly and can have many serious direct and indirect effects on the lives of workers and their families. For workers some of the direct costs of an injury or illness are:
f the pain and suffering of the injury or illness; f the loss of income;
f the possible loss of a job;
f health-care costs.
It has been estimated that the indirect costs of an accident or illness can be four to ten times greater than the direct costs, or even more. An occupational illness or accident can have so many indirect costs to workers that it is often difficult
to measure them. One of the most obvious indirect costs is the human suffering caused to workers’ families, which cannot be compensated with money.
The costs to employers of occupational accidents or illnesses are also estimated to be enormous. For a small business, the cost of even one accident can be a financial disaster. For employers, some of the direct costs are:
f payment for work not performed;
f medical and compensation payments;
f repair or replacement of damaged machinery and equipment; f reduction or a temporary halt in production;
f increased training expenses and administration costs;
f possible reduction in the quality of work;
f negative effect on morale in other workers.