Recent figures released by experts in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has showcased the economic implications associated with non-fatal injuries in the U.S.
According to their recent data, published in the online journal Injury Prevention, non-fatal injuries among Americans add up to an approximate value of $1590 (USD) and an average of 11 days off from the place of employment, per worker.
The results are part of an analysis comprised of both productivity data and claims filed to medical insurance companies, the co-authors of the study indicated.
The Study
For the study, the research team at the BMJ scoured through millions of claims filed in the workplace throughout the nation between 2014 and 2015. The data was specified to include only non-fatal injuries treated within hospital settings among adults between the ages of 18 and 64 with health insurance.
“The attributable average number and value of lost work days in the year following non-fatal emergency department–treated injuries were estimated by injury mechanism and body region among individuals age 18–64 with employer health insurance injured 1 October 2014 through 30 September 2015,” Cora Peterson, the study’s first author, explained in the BMJ report.
“Multivariable regression models compared lost work days among injury patients and matched controls during the year following injured patients’ ED visit, controlling for demographic, clinical and health insurance factors. Lost work days were valued using an average US daily market production estimate,” Peterson also stated.
The Findings
The average value of lost workdays as a result of non-fatal injuries was estimated at $1590, with an approximate 11 days taken off to cope with injuries.
All in all, BMJ experts concluded the following in their report, “Injuries are costly and preventable. Accurate estimates of attributable lost work productivity are important to monitor the economic burden of injuries and help to prioritise cost-effective public health prevention activities.”
In the U.S., non-fatal occupational injury or illness has remained unchanged in 2019 from data released in 2018. But the number of accidents, including those involving workers operating 18-wheeler trucks, remains significant, with an approximate 130,000 injuries and 5,000 deaths occurring in a typical populous city, according to Burwell Nebout Trial lawyers.
In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their report detailing the prevalence of nonfatal occupational injuries among American adults. Their report assures that young workers report the highest rates of job-related injuries, based on national data collected from 2012-2018.