The costs of a workplace accident, or direct costs

Generally speaking, the direct costs consist of elements associated with treating and repairing the injury of the person who suffered the accident, such as their medical expenses. However, they also encompass: the insurance policy’s contribution rate, medicines, pharmacies, hospitals, the victim’s rehabilitation, sick pay, pensions and annuities, prevention funds, and potential civil or criminal penalties. According to a report completed in 2013 by the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé on workplace accidents and illnesses in Québec, the human and financial costs of an employment injury are $38,507 on average. These exorbitant figures show that, as a business, it’s best to protect yourself from the risks rather than having to bear an excessive financial burden.

The indirect costs of industrial work accidents

• The administrative processing time of the accident

• The injured person’s recovery time, which must be paid

• The potential breakage of equipment during the accident

• The project production delay

• The potential loss of the contract in question and any subsequent ones

• The cost of training the person replacing the injured person

• The impact on the company’s image as a whole

It’s been said that the indirect impacts and costs of a workplace accident are often 2 to 5 times greater than the direct costs. They’re hidden, but large companies can see the damage happen very quickly. Here they are in detail:

Impacts on reputation

When an industrial work accident occurs, and especially if it’s serious, all the eyes in the industry turn to the working conditions in which this event took place. If the accident took place in the context of a breach in terms of safety and prevention on the part of the employer, the whole company’s reputation will take a hit, and the impact can be seen even in the collaboration proposals and therefore have a long-term financial impact.

Impacts on productivity

Among the indirect costs of industrial work accidents, there are also the costs related to lost opportunities for the injured person and the employer themselves, who will certainly see a decline in the productivity of their business. The main indirect costs are primarily salary costs, administrative costs, and the costs of lost productivity.

Impact on motivation at work

As for the human costs, they mostly revolve around the value of the change in the quality of life of the worker and the people around them, such as their co-workers. Indeed, the latter will tend to fear a workplace accident or even feel a certain depression if their colleague is in a very bad way.

To prevent the exorbitant costs of industrial work accidents, several companies have found a solution that involves implementing comprehensive workplace health and wellness programs. Large companies have every interest in implementing such initiatives in their budgets. They help improve risk management, create occupational health and safety goals, and reduce the costs and impacts of accidents.