Costs of Construction Injuries
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 117, Issue 3
Abstract
A study is conducted to obtain accurate quantification of all costs associated with construction‐worker injuries. More than five hundred injuries are examined on which cost information was obtained on the indirect costs. Indirect costs are defined to include those costs attributed to loss of productivity of the injured worker, loss of productivity of the crew, transportation costs to the nearest medical‐treatment facilities, time expended to complete various forms related to the injury, and an assortment of other costs not regarded as direct costs. Direct costs are defined as those costs covered by worker's compensation insurance. Results show that the ratio of indirect to direct costs for medical‐case injuries is 4.2 and for restricted activity or lost‐workday injuries it is 20.3. These ratios are extremely variable with injury severity being a primary influence on their magnitude. The study shows why safety experts have difficulty in agreeing on one reliable ratio. The principal conclusion is that the indirect costs of injuries are considerable as evidenced in this research study.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 117 • Issue 3 • September 1991
Pages: 537 - 550
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 ASCE.
History
Published online: Sep 1, 1991
Published in print: Sep 1991
Authors
Metrics & Citations
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