Workplace Safety Improvements That Can Help Lower Workers' Compensation Claims

Injuries aren’t preferential to the industry you’re in. A strained back in a warehouse, a fall in a retail stockroom, a driver injury during loading, or a repetitive motion issue on an assembly line can all lead to the same outcome: time away from work, lost productivity, and a workers’ compensation claim.

And these incidents are common. In 2023, private industry employers reported 2,569,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses, and 946,500 of those cases involved days away from work.¹

The encouraging part is that most injuries aren’t random. They tend to come from a few predictable sources — overexertion, slips and falls, contact injuries, and repetitive motion. The right safety programs help reduce these risks and, over time, can help lower both the frequency and cost of workers’ compensation claims.

Below are practical workplace safety improvements that can work across industries — whether your employees manufacture products, move inventory, drive routes, serve customers, build buildings, or work behind a desk.

Ergonomics and Safe Lifting: A Strong First Step for Many Businesses

If you’re not sure where to begin, addressing material handling exposure through ergonomics can be a very effective and practical starting point — especially for businesses where employees lift, carry, reach, push, pull, or repeat the same motion all day.

Ergonomics isn’t only about office setups. It includes things like:

• How employees lift and stack products

• How far they have to reach, bend, or stoop to pick parts or scan inventory

• How long drivers sit without a break

• How work stations are structured on a line or in a packing area

Ergonomics programs help prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders by reducing awkward postures, repetitive motions, and other risk factors.

Why it matters for claims: Back strains, shoulder injuries, and repetitive-motion issues often lead to medical visits, restricted duty, and time away from work. Improving ergonomics and reducing material-handling exposure reduces the likelihood that those claims happen in the first place.

A simple way to start:

• Review past complaints and injuries to see if specific workstations or tasks are associated with issues

• Conduct a job review to identify awkward movements, reaching, bending, stooping, or twisting

• Talk to your most trusted employees for their input on the topic

When you find a task that can be improved — like adjusting a work surface height, adding a lift assist, or building in short breaks for repetitive work — set a plan to implement the change and follow up to make sure it is done as swiftly as possible. If you fail to make the identified change, that can be detrimental to your safety culture.

Slip,Trip, and Fall Prevention: Easy to Start, Big Potential Impact

Slip and fall injuries are some of the most frustrating incidents because they often come from hazards that seem small — until someone gets hurt. A wet entryway, a cluttered aisle, a loose mat, poor lighting, a damaged step, or a loading dock edge can cause a serious injury in seconds.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) most recent detailed breakdown (2021-2022) shows there were 450,540 falls, slips, and trips cases that resulted in days away from work.²

Why it matters for claims: Falls can lead to contusions, fractures, head injuries, and extended recovery time — often increasing claim severity.

Instead of making this complicated, focus on consistent basics:

• Keep walkways clear and marked

• Improve lighting

• Fix uneven surfaces

• Clean spills quickly and make it everyone’s responsibility

• Use mats at entrances and wet areas

• Inspect high-traffic areas routinely

One idea that works well: A monthly 10-minute “hazard walk.” Employees notice issues early — and the fixes are often low-cost.

Safety Training That Actually Sticks (Because It Happens More Than Once a Year)

Many businesses rely on annual training. The problem? It often turns into a checklist item, and people forget what they heard months ago.

Short, frequent training is usually more effective — especially when it focuses on what employees do every day. OSHA encourages workplaces to build safety into regular operations and to keep hazard prevention active and ongoing.

A simple training rhythm could look like:

• A 5–10 minute weekly safety huddle (avoid scheduling on Fridays when no one will retain the information after the weekend)

• A topic related to a current exposure  (lifting, PPE, safe driving habits, winter weather, summer heat safety, machine guarding)

• Quick demonstrations or sharing of stories — make the training interactive, not just videos

Why it matters for claims: Consistent reinforcement helps reduce injuries caused by human error, rushed decisions, or unclear expectations — which can be common drivers of frequent claims.

Near-Miss Reporting: Catch Problems Before Someone Gets Hurt

Near misses are often the “almost injuries” that get brushed off because no one was harmed. But they matter — because they reveal what could happen next time.

Examples show up in every industry:

• A forklift nearly strikes a pedestrian

• A driver teeters off the edge of a loading dock

• An object flies from a machine, striking the control panel instead of the worker

• Someone catches their foot on a cord that’s been there for weeks

Near-miss reporting only works when employees know it won’t get them in trouble. When people trust the process, the reporting becomes a powerful early-warning system.

To keep it simple:

• Explain the concept of a near miss, giving real examples

• Make reporting easy

• Follow up quickly so employees see action

• Thank employees for speaking up

Why it matters for claims: This program reduces the likelihood of incidents by identifying hazards early.

Return-to-Work Programs: A Practical Way to Reduce Claim Costs

When an injury occurs, the time away from work is often one of the biggest cost drivers. A return-to-work program (sometimes called modified duty) helps employees stay engaged while recovering.

Modified duty doesn’t have to be complicated. In some cases, the employee can stay in the same job with minor tweaks.

In other cases, employees can be assigned to pre-identify tasks like:

• Training support or onboarding help

• Safety walkthroughs or documentation

• Inventory tracking

• Scheduling or admin support

• Dispatch or customer service (where applicable)

Why it matters for claims: Return-to-work programs can reduce claim severity by shortening time away, lowering wage-loss costs, and supporting smoother recovery.

Safety Leadership: The “Multiplier” Program That Makes Everything Else Work

This one is easy to overlook — but it may be the most important. Employees watch what leaders do. If shortcuts are tolerated, people will take them. If safety is addressed consistently, it becomes the norm.

OSHA highlights leadership commitment and worker participation as core elements of effective safety and health programs.

A practical first step: Ask supervisors to do one short safety check-in weekly and capture:

• One safe practice reinforced

• One improvement, fix, or follow-up needed

It doesn’t need to be formal. It needs to be consistent.

Why it matters for claims: Safety leadership can help reduce hazards, improve morale, and prevent a minor injury from becoming severe.

Why These Programs Work Across Industries

The industries may differ — but the injury drivers are often similar. BLS data shows predictable event categories (like falls/slips/trips and overexertion) contribute heavily to injuries serious enough to require days away from work.

And the business impact is real. The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates the total cost of work injuries in 2023 was $176.5 billion, or $1,080 per worker. ³

Start Implementing One New Safety Measure This Month

You don’t have to overhaul everything at once.

If you want a simple starting point, choose one:

• Material handling improvements for high-strain tasks

• Monthly hazard walks to reduce falls

• Short weekly safety huddles

• A near-miss reporting process

• A return-to-work plan you can activate when needed

   

Choose one and start implementing it this month. Small changes can prevent injuries, strengthen workplace culture, and reduce workers’ compensation claims over time.

Sources:

¹ Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities — Latest Numbers and Biennial Case and Demographic Characteristics (DAFW 2021–2022)

²Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses—2023

³National Safety Council, Work Injury Costs (2023)

⁴Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs