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Overexertion Tops List of Workplace Injury Causes

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The most disabling, nonfatal workplace injuries cost U.S. employers nearly $62 billion in 2013, according to Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety’s 2016 Workplace Safety Index.

The 10 leading causes of the most disabling work-related injuries, which caused employees to miss six or more days of work, account for more than $51 billion, or 82.5 percent, of these costs, according to the index.

Overexertion — or injuries related to lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, carrying or throwing — was again the top cause of workplace injuries, costing employers more than $15 billion in 2013, followed by falls on the same level at almost $10.2 billion and falls to a lower level at $5.4 billion, according to the index.

Rounding out the top five causes were struck by object or equipment at $5.3 billion and other exertions or bodily reactions at nearly $4.2 billion, according to the index.