Report: New Employees Face Higher Injury Risk

More than a third of workplace injuries occur during an employee’s first year on the job, according to a new report from Travelers.

Travelers’ 2024 Injury Impact Report analyzed more than 1.2 million workers’ compensation claims from 2017-2021. 

The report found that first-year workers represented 35% of workplace injuries, a slight increase over last year. 

Those injuries made up 32% of all workers’ compensation claims, and resulted in more than six million missed workdays. 

“Factors such as inexperience, workforce shortages, and maintenance issues are all contributing to these unfortunate and often avoidable accidents,” Travelers vice president of business insurance claims Rich Ives said.

Injury Causes

The most common causes of injuries were:

• Overexertion (29%)
• Slips, trips, and falls (23%)
• Being struck by an object

However, the top driver of severe claims of $250,000 or more was slips, trips, and falls. 

According to the report, age also continues to play a factor in injuries. 

Workers aged 35-to-49 had the highest percentage of injuries (32%) compared to other age groups. 

Workers aged 50-59 (25%) and 25-to-34 (21%) saw slightly lower percentages of injuries. 

Common Injuries

Researchers also looked at where on their bodies workers were injured. 

The study found that lower back injuries were most common (12%) across all industries except in manufacturing. 

In that industry, shoulders were the most frequently injured body parts. 

According to the study, injured employees missed an average of 72 workdays. 

Industry Trends

Across all industries that researchers analyzed, construction had the highest average number of lost workdays per injury at 103 days. 

That’s an average of four more days lost than last year. 

Forty-four percent of all construction industries were to first-year employees, with nearly half caused by slips, trips, and falls.

Transportation had the second highest average number of lost workdays per injury, followed by services, wholesale, and manufacturing.

Travelers said the goal of the report is to help businesses identify risks and implement strategies to help keep employees safe and operations running smoothly.

“There are tangible consequences to any injury, and many include long-term, sometimes permanent, effects,” said Travelers assistant VP of workers’ compensation and transportation Chris Hayes.