Retail industry workers miss an average of 24 days of work due to injuries, according to a report released Thursday by AmTrust Financial Services Inc.
The average loss due to injury paid to retail workers is $11,641 for men and $7,030 for women, according to New York-based AmTrust’s Retail Risk Report, which analyzed 20,000 workers compensation insurance claims from its retail clients between 2016 and 2018.
The highest claims payouts in retail were attributed to injuries from slips or falls from ladders or scaffolding at an average of $21,000 per claim; strains or repetitive motion injuries, averaging $14,000 per claim; and motor vehicle collisions, averaging $13,900 per claim. Nearly a quarter of all payouts were associated with lifting injuries.
Among retailers, the most hazardous classes included meat, fish or poultry retailers; hardware stores; automobile parts and accessories stores; and barbershops or hair styling salons.
Worker age also had an impact on claims. Although older workers tended to have fewer injuries, they took longer to recover and had the highest average payouts, according to the report. Workers over the age of 70 accounted for fewer than 1% of retail workers compensation claims, but had the highest average claims payout of more than $14,000 each.
This article was first published by Business Insurance.
