OSHA estimates that non-fatal lost-time injuries (LTIs) cost an organization $28,000 (min.) per case according to the National Safety Councils 1998 data.

Injuries cause physical pain as well as financial pain when companies must pay out insurance claims as well as deal with lost time that affects revenue. Understanding the financial impact that injuries have on your oranization is critical.

Safety professionals are challenged with looking out for the safety of the employees that are tasked with producing goods and services that create revenue for their company. If an employee gets hurt, he or she is not able to produce goods and services which puts a strain on the companys ability to produce revenue. That is why the Safety Professionals role is so important, and why decisions made (choosing the right PPE, training, certification) by the Safety Professional can greatly impact organizational success or failure.

Example of Lost Time Injurys (LTI) Financial Impact  - Mine Site

Source: 2007 NIOSH Mining Safety and Health Research

According to this report, the average rate of LTIs per 100 Full Time Employees (FTE) at a Coal Mine was calculated at 3.3 in 2007. In this example, lets say a large Coal company has 20,000 FTEs.

20,000 FTE  x  .033 LTI rate   =  660 LTI

660 LTI  x  $28,000 per LTI  =  $18,480,000 Total Est. Annual Cost of Occupational Injury

That $18.48 million injury expense puts a huge dent in profitability, and puts stress on the shoulders of production crews to make up for all of the lost production revenues.

Check out the OSHA Cost Calculator to find out how much your company loses each year because of injuries, and use this data to benchmark your safety program each year.