- Author
-
Hinze, J.
- Title
- Indirect Costs of Construction Accidents.
- Coporate
- Washington Univ., Seattle
- Report
-
Source Document 67
November 1991
26 p.
- Keywords
-
construction
|
costs
|
accidents
|
injuries
- Abstract
- Worker injuries have an adverse impact on productivity in any work setting. The construction industry has an injury frequency rate among the highest of all U.S. industries. The most recent statistics indicate that 190,000 U.S. construction workers were disabled and 2,100 construction workers died as a result of work-related accidents during 1989. The fatality rate of construction workers is the highest of all industries. Estimates of the costs of these injuries and fatalities indicate that the magnitude of the direct costs is approximately 2 billion dollars (National Safety Council, 1990). Estimates are much higher if it is assumed that the direct costs are approximated by the total sum of money collected by insurance companies for worker's compensation insurance premiums. Note that these estimates do not account for or even attempt to quantify in any monetary sense the pain and suffering that accompanies worker injuries.