A report from Liberty Mutual Insurance revealed some interesting facts: overexertion, falls, and being struck by an object or equipment incidents rank as the costliest workers’ compensation injuries. In its 2025 Workplace Safety Index (WSI), the company also pointed out that “injury rates have fallen, but total costs have risen in the U.S.”
At Monast Law Office, we’ve helped more than 15,000 clients and know that the most costly workers' compensation injuries often start small but can spiral into major medical and financial crises that demand experienced legal advocacy. Let’s take a closer look at what makes these particular claims and others so challenging.
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Why Do These Injuries Have Higher Workers' Compensation Costs?
These incident types create the most expensive claims due to their severity and treatment complexity.
Overexertion Injuries
According to the WSI, “overexertion involving outside sources remains the number one cause, accounting for $13.7 billion in costs, largely due to manual material handling.”
These injuries occur when workers push their bodies beyond safe limits through repetitive motions such as lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying. The hidden long-term consequences are frequently due to injury recovery that requires comprehensive physical therapy, pain management, and sometimes surgical intervention that extends for months.
Workplace Falls
The 2025 WSI divides these into two categories:
- Falls on the same level—the second costliest workers’ comp injury, resulting in $10.5 billion in costs.
- Falls to a lower level—when combined with struck-by incidents, account for nearly $11.6 billion in costs.
Falls have a severe financial impact, resulting in emergency room visits, surgical procedures, and rehabilitation services that accumulate quickly. Serious fall injuries involving head trauma or spinal damage often result in permanent limitations that affect entire careers. The lost earning capacity component can reach substantial amounts over a working lifetime.
Struck-by Incidents
As noted above, being struck by objects or equipment ranks third among the costliest injury categories, encompassing everything from falling supplies from a warehouse shelf to malfunctioning machinery. The sudden, traumatic nature of these injuries requires extensive medical treatment.
Additionally, traumatic brain injuries may reveal complications weeks after the initial incident, while internal complications, especially in machinery crush injuries, might require multiple surgical procedures. These extended treatment periods significantly increase costs.
Where It Hurts Costs More, Too
While incident types such as falls and overexertion drive immediate claim costs, specific body part injuries create their own unique financial challenges. The WSI notes that “more than half (56%) of workplace injuries impact the back, shoulder, knee, or multiple body parts—costing nearly $32.6 billion.”
Why is this? Injuries to these areas typically seem minor at first but often develop into chronic conditions requiring ongoing medical care, workplace accommodations, and long-term disability considerations that can span entire careers.
- Back injuries demand extended treatment. Lower back strain is the most common workplace injury, but herniated discs and nerve damage might need intensive intervention, including surgery and pain management.
- Shoulder injuries affect multiple job functions. Rotator cuff tears are just one of the many job-related shoulder problems that need surgical repair and months of rehabilitation.
- Knee injuries impact mobility and earning capacity. Meniscus tears, tendonitis, bone fractures, and ligament damage in the knees can affect walking, climbing, and lifting, impacting all types of job requirements.
- Multiple body part injuries create compounding expenses. When incidents result in multiple injuries simultaneously, treatment costs exceed the sum of individual injury costs. Recovery takes longer because treating one area may inadvertently aggravate others, necessitating careful coordination among various medical specialists.
How Can Monast Law Office Protect Your Health and Financial Future?
Ohio's unique Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) system creates specific challenges that demand experienced legal guidance to secure proper benefits. At the Monast Law Office, we’ll put our decades of experience to work for you to provide:
- A solid claim strategy. We help you present comprehensive evidence that meets BWC requirements from the initial filing. Proper documentation prevents delays and denials that could leave you without benefits during recovery.
- Precise medical cost projections and approval. Our team collaborates with treating physicians to ensure BWC approves necessary treatments and future medical needs. We anticipate potential complications and fight for coverage of additional surgeries or long-term care requirements.
- Detailed lost wage calculations and documentation. We evaluate how injuries affect your earning capacity over your entire career, presenting evidence that supports maximum temporary total disability and permanent partial disability awards under Ohio law.
- Proper defense during appeals and disputes. When the BWC denies claims or disputes medical necessity, our expertise in the appeals process ensures that your rights are protected through administrative hearings and beyond.
Remember, Ohio’s workers’ compensation system exists to ensure protection after you’re hurt on the job. No matter what the costs are for your emotional, physical, and financial recovery, you deserve these benefits—and we’ll fight for your right to get them.
