The top workplace risk exposures that resulted in injuries and workers’ compensation claims filed by ICW Group policyholders in 2023 are no surprise. Year after year, we see these same types of injuries among workers. The good news is they are preventable, and we’ve got the expertise and the tools you need to help.
As your partner in workplace safety, we want to help your business prevent injuries and illness from workplace risks. With ICW Group’s one-on-one risk management consultations, and training and educational resources, you can keep your employees safe, reduce injuries, and improve occupational safety and health.
Here are the top work-related injury risks our policyholders faced last year and some available preventative tools and resources.
- Struck By or Against – This was our top risk exposure in 2023, equaling 27% of claims filed. Struck by or against incidences are typically a leading cause of job injury every year. According to OSHA, struck by is defined as injuries produced by forcible contact or impact between the injured person and an object or piece of equipment. These types of occupational injuries are prevalent in the construction industry. A worker can be struck by a flying, falling, swinging, or rolling object. Our online resource for policyholders, Safety OnDemand, has tools to help prevent these injuries (registration is required and free with a workers’ comp policy). Here are a couple of examples:
- Caught or Crushed – Spanish language
- Struck By Prevention for Forklift Operators
- Material Handling – Nearly 20% of claims filed by our policyholders were related to material handling. This workplace risk exposure results from improper moving, handling, or storage of materials, which can result in damage to the musculoskeletal system causing ergonomic-type injuries such as strains and sprains, fractures, or cuts and bruises. Material handling injuries occur from lifting, stooping, twisting, reaching, and bending. We have a safety training webinar you can share with your employees to learn practical solutions to reduce their risk.
- Falls (Same Level and from Elevation) – Same-level falls typically involve slips and trips, while falls from elevation can occur from a ladder, scaffolding, or another surface. These types of injuries usually rank high in the number of injuries we see with around 17% of claims resulting from these injuries last year. ICW Group has numerous training guides and resources to help keep your workers on their feet. Here are a few:
- How to Prevent Same-Level Falls – Safety Talk
- Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls in the Workplace – training webinar
- Helping Employees Use Ladders Safely – training webinar
- Find a variety of tools at Safety OnDemand
- Watch helpful ICW Group videos on fall prevention
- Cumulative Trauma – This is the excessive wear and tear on tendons, muscles, and sensitive nerve tissue caused by continuous use over an extended period of time. More than 6% of our policyholders experienced this type of injury last year. Cumulative trauma can develop from improper work positioning, repetition, or force. This type of injury can happen in all work environments. Our Safety OnDemand resource has multiple eLearnings and Safety Talks, available in Spanish and English, to help your employees avoid workplace injury.
Proper training and guidance to control workplace injuries and illnesses should always be a top priority. Contact your ICW Group risk management consultant if you have questions about the safety and health of your employees. We are here to help and want to see your employees go home safe!
