In 2022, U.S. businesses spent $58.78 billion on workplace injuries. That’s billion with a B. And that’s just the direct costs—medical expenses and lost wages. It doesn’t include the productivity losses, overtime costs, or the human toll these injuries take on your workers and their families.
As a safety manager, you’re tasked with preventing these injuries while juggling limited resources, competing priorities, and the daily pressures of keeping operations running. Where do you even start?
The Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index (WSI) offers a data-driven answer. For 25 years, this comprehensive study has tracked the most costly workplace injuries, giving safety professionals like you a roadmap for where to focus your efforts.
Let’s break down what the 2025 WSI tells us—and more importantly, what you can do about it.
The Big Picture: Understanding the Top 10
Here’s a sobering fact: just 10 types of injuries account for 86.6% of all workplace injury costs. That’s $50.9 billion concentrated in a handful of preventable incidents.
The top 10 culprits are:
Overexertion involving outside sources
($13.70B - 23.3%) - Think lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
Falls on same level
($10.52B - 17.9%) - Slips, trips, and falls on walking surfaces
Struck by object or equipment
($5.81B - 9.9%) - Getting hit by falling tools, moving vehicles, or flying debris
Falls to lower level
($5.78B - 9.8%) - Falls from ladders, scaffolds, roofs, or loading docks
Other exertions or bodily reactions
($3.90B - 6.6%) - Reaching, bending, or slipping without falling
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles
($2.84B - 4.8%) - Crashes during work-related driving
Slip or trip without fall
($2.60B - 4.4%) - Near-misses that still cause injury
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects
($2.16B - 3.7%) - Getting caught in machinery or between objects
Repetitive motions involving microtasks
($1.83B - 3.1%) - Injuries from repeated movements
Struck against object or equipment
($1.73B - 2.9%) - Walking into objects or bumping against equipment
25 Years of Data
What’s Changed:
- Falls on same level costs nearly doubled
- Repetitive motion injuries significantly decreased
- COVID-19 temporarily shifted patterns but didn’t change fundamentals
What Hasn’t:
- The top 10 causes remain remarkably stable
- Overexertion consistently ranks #1
- Industry-specific patterns persist
The True Cost Calculator
When budgeting for safety initiatives, remember that direct costs are just the tip of the iceberg. Research suggests indirect costs multiply the impact by 2-5x:
Direct Costs (from WSI):
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
Indirect Costs (often hidden):
- Overtime to cover absent workers
- Training replacement workers
- Decreased productivity
- Administrative time
- Potential OSHA fines
- Increased insurance premiums
- Legal costs
- Damaged equipment or materials
A $50,000 injury could easily cost your company $150,000-$250,000 total.
A Data-Driven Guide to Improving Workplace Safety
Download this eBook to learn the different types of safety data and best practices for using data and analytics to improve your safety program.
Breaking Down the Top 3 Cost Drivers
Let’s dig deeper into the three most expensive injury types. Understanding these can help you spot risks before they become statistics.
Overexertion: The $13.7 Billion Problem
Overexertion injuries happen in every industry, every day. Your warehouse worker lifting a heavy box. Your nurse repositioning a patient. Your construction crew moving materials. These aren’t dramatic accidents—they’re routine tasks gone wrong.
Common scenarios:
- Lifting objects from floor level
- Reaching overhead repeatedly
- Pushing or pulling heavy carts
- Carrying awkward loads
Quick wins for prevention:
- Implement team lifting policies for objects over 50 pounds
- Provide mechanical aids like dollies and lift-assist devices
- Train workers on proper body mechanics
- Redesign workflows to minimize manual handling
Falls on Same Level: The Growing Threat
Here’s what should worry you: falls on same level have increased from averaging $5.5 billion (12.4% of costs) in the early 2000s to $10.1 billion (17.2%) in recent years. These “simple” falls are becoming more costly, not less.
Why these falls happen:
- Wet or contaminated walking surfaces
- Poor lighting in work areas
- Cluttered walkways
- Uneven surfaces or unmarked changes in elevation
- Weather conditions (for outdoor workers)
Prevention strategies that work:
- Implement a formal housekeeping program
- Install slip-resistant flooring in high-risk areas
- Mark elevation changes clearly
- Require proper footwear
- Create a culture where workers feel comfortable reporting hazards
Struck by Object: Hidden in Plain Sight
“Struck by” injuries often involve everyday equipment and materials. A wrench dropped from height. A forklift backing up. Lumber sliding off a stack. These incidents happen fast, but they’re rarely random.
Typical hazards by workplace:
- Construction: Falling tools, materials, and debris
- Manufacturing: Moving machinery parts and material handling equipment
- Warehouses: Forklifts, falling inventory, and conveyor systems
- Offices: Opening doors, file cabinets, and unstable storage
The role of proper training and equipment:
- Tool tethering programs for work at height
- High-visibility clothing and warning systems
- Proper stacking and storage procedures
- Regular equipment maintenance
Industry-Specific Insights: Find Your Focus
While the overall top 10 provides valuable guidance, your industry has its own risk profile. Eight industries account for 86.4% of all workers’ compensation losses, and each has distinct patterns.
Know Your Industry’s Top 5
Construction
($10.44B total)
- Falls to lower level (22.4%)
- Overexertion (18.5%)
- Struck by object (13.6%)
- Falls on same level (12.2%)
- Other exertions (7.5%)
Manufacturing
($7.47B total)
- Overexertion (23.7%)
- Falls on same level (17.0%)
- Struck by object (11.2%)
- Other exertions (8.8%)
- Repetitive motions (7.7%)
Transportation & Warehousing
($4.81B total)
- Overexertion (30.1%)
- Falls on same level (14.2%)
- Other exertions (9.0%)
- Falls to lower level (8.5%)
- Struck by object (8.4%)
Notice the patterns? While the same injury types appear across industries, their intensity varies dramatically. Construction workers face “falls to lower level” as their #1 risk, while in manufacturing and transportation, overexertion dominates at nearly 24% and 30% respectively.
Turning Data into Action: Your Safety Roadmap
Knowledge without action won’t prevent a single injury. Here’s how to transform these insights into a practical safety strategy.
Step 1: Assess Your Current Injury Data
- Pull your OSHA 300 logs for the past three years
- Categorize injuries using the WSI classifications
- Calculate the percentage of injuries and costs by type
- Compare your percentages to your industry benchmarks
Step 2: Prioritize Based on Impact
Don't try to tackle everything at once. Focus on:
- Your top 3 injury types by cost
- Any category where you exceed industry averages
- Quick wins that can build momentum
Step 3: Build Targeted Prevention Programs
For each priority area, develop:
- Training initiatives: Not generic safety talks, but specific skill-building
- Equipment and PPE upgrades: Invest in tools that reduce risk
- Process improvements: Redesign tasks to eliminate hazards
- Accountability systems: Clear expectations and consistent enforcement
Step 4: Track and Adjust
Monitor these key metrics:
- Injury frequency by type (monthly)
- Near-miss reports in target areas
- Training completion rates
- Safety observation trends
How Technology and Expertise Can Help
Managing multiple safety initiatives while keeping up with daily operations is challenging. You need force multipliers—tools and expertise that extend your reach and impact.
This is where KPA comes in. We help safety managers like you:
- Streamline incident tracking and analysis – Spot trends before they become costly patterns
- Deliver targeted training – Address your specific high-risk areas with engaging, effective content
- Automate inspections – Catch hazards consistently across all shifts and locations
- Access expert guidance – Get answers when you need them, not after an incident
The result? Safety managers using KPA report spending less time on paperwork and more time on proactive safety improvements that actually prevent injuries.
The Good News: Progress is Possible
While the persistence of these injury types might feel discouraging, the data also contains signs of hope. Smart safety programs can move the needle.
Consider “struck by object” injuries—through better training, improved storage systems, and consistent use of PPE like hard hats and safety glasses, many companies have dramatically reduced these incidents. The same goes for falls from height in construction, where comprehensive fall protection programs have saved countless lives.
The key? Sustained focus on the fundamentals: training, hazard identification, and creating a culture where safety is everyone’s job. Your workplace can achieve similar results with the right approach.
Your Next Steps
Ready to tackle your workplace’s biggest safety challenges? Here’s what to do today:
- Download the full WSI report for deeper insights into your industry
- Conduct a focused safety audit on your industry’s top 5 injury causes
- Identify one high-impact improvement you can implement this month
- Consider how technology can multiply your efforts and extend your influence
Remember: you’re not just preventing injuries. You’re protecting livelihoods, preserving families, and proving that a safe workplace is an achievable goal.
Want to see how KPA can help you tackle your biggest safety challenges? Let’s talk about your specific needs and goals.
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