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Back injuries and other related issues are significant health concerns in many workplaces, particularly those with high rates of manual labor, repetitive motion, material handling among workers, and mobile equipment operations. In a study conducted by the Miley Legal Group, “Work-related accidents which cause neck and back injuries have a national average settlement of $148,750 and a median settlement of $152,000.” According to Forbes, “Data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates back injury claims cost an average of $40,000 to $80,000 including medical bills, wage loss benefits and more.” Research conducted by most groups, including data provided by the National Safety Council, will reveal that average back injury costs for companies will land somewhere around $40,000.
This can have a significant impact on companies. If someone suffers a back injury and misses work, you must replace that person with someone else. Often, that replacement doesn’t have the knowledge or experience to perform at the same level. So, production and quality then suffer as well, and your costs are compounded.
However, beyond the financial costs, we are talking about people hurting from work-related incidents. People are a company's biggest asset, and no one should suffer from an injury at work. We should focus on every employee's health and wellness to ensure that hazards are eliminated, risks are controlled, and workers are provided environments that promote safe practices to avoid injuries and health concerns. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this is certainly the case with managing ergonomics within the workplace.
Ensuring workers have a workplace that provides the highest level of health and safety for every task they perform provides so many returns for your investment: lower costs for your company, avoidance of OSHA citations and penalties, production increases, ensuring quality is met, improved employee morale and satisfaction, and a place employees look forward to doing work every day. The ATN EHS team has solutions to help provide that ounce of prevention and a visible return on investment by performing ergonomic assessments for your workplace, training, and education to ensure workers have the knowledge and skills necessary to perform their tasks safely, or a combination of assessments and training.
If you are experiencing back pain, there are several things you should do. First, it needs to be reported immediately if it is work-related. The longer you go without reporting it, the harder it is for companies, workers’ compensation companies, and doctors to provide the diagnosis and treatment you need properly. If it is not work-related, you should immediately see your primary care physician and allow them to direct you.
Secondly, understand that back injuries can be tricky. So, be patient. The part of your back that is hurting may not be the part that is actually injured. It may be stemming from somewhere else. This may involve several methods of testing and diagnosis to find the specific location of the injury.
Next, you need to ensure you are following all of the doctor’s prescribed treatment. Remember, if the doctor instructs you not to do it at work, you should not be doing it at home or recreation. The limitations established by your physician need to be followed throughout your daily activities, and only your treating physician can prescribe what they believe is best.
Above all, open and honest lines of communication with your employer are critical the moment you realize you are injured, during the diagnosis process, while being treated, and even after you have recovered. Make sure you are doing your part to talk with your employer so you can be on the road to a quick recovery.
Finally, don’t fall into the arenas some do, such as ignoring the pain or thinking a back belt will fix it. Because there is insufficient scientific data to show that back belts are effective for preventing or treating back injuries, OSHA does not endorse nor condemn the use of such. Further, OSHA has made it clear that back belts are not recognized as effective engineering controls. The CDC has taken the same stance, neither supporting nor refuting back belt effectiveness.
Most importantly, do not ignore your pain. Take care of yourself if you are hurting. Start today by trying to prevent the injury from ever occurring through safe lifting practices, proper material handling techniques, and other safe work activities.
Please contact us if we can support your company with any of our ergonomic solutions. We would love to partner with you on taking your health and safety program to the highest level!
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