Hidden construction injuries have the biggest cost

WorkSafe Victoria has launched a concerted assault on the state’s biggest source of workplace injuries which cost the community $600 million a year in medical treatment and rehabilitation bills. New television advertisements from WorkSafe Victoria show the graphic and instant consequences of manual-handling injuries and slips, trips and falls in construction and other industries, using computer imagery to take viewers inside the body to see bones break and tissue tear.

Statewide and across all industries, these injuries account for more than 60% of all reported workplace - more than 17,000 a year. The average cost of treating these people through the workers compensation system averages $45,000 per claim and the average time off work is 10 weeks.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said the issue was enormous in the construction industry where individuals suffered greatly, often long-term, from what were almost always preventable injuries: “For employers, productivity is cut. There may also be staff replacement costs, retraining and safety improvements to be made after the event. Industries lose people permanently.”

WorkSafe inspectors will backup the campaign with workplace visits targeting these issues over the next few months. Target sectors are injuries that cause back pain; muscular sprains and sprains; soft tissue injuries to the neck, arms, shoulders and legs; abdominal hernias; carpal tunnel syndrome; tendonitis; and fractures and dislocations.

The website www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/backonsafety has also been set up, giving examples of safety issues and solutions across 10 industry sectors. It also provides tips on raising potential safety issues with employers and workers, construction safety posters and information on what WorkSafe inspectors look for when dealing with these issues.

Merritt said these injuries were often not taken seriously in the community - written off as ‘accidents’ or seen as ‘just part of the job’: “There’s no ‘blood on the floor’ or spectacular images on the TV news, yet the consequences of these injuries are enormous for individuals, their loved ones and their employers.”

“This campaign should make every employer think about what they expect people to do and how they do it and workers to consider the consequences of what they do. Employers should be looking at the potential injuries caused by poor manual-handling practices, repetitive work and the often-present potential for slips, trips and falls,” Merritt said.