Premium
Employer costs of alcohol‐involved injuries
Author(s) -
Zaloshnja Eduard,
Miller Ted R.,
Hendrie Delia,
Galvin Deborah
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.20425
Subject(s) - medicine , sick leave , occupational safety and health , payment , environmental health , injury prevention , occupational injury , health insurance , crash , poison control , health care , business , finance , physical therapy , pathology , economic growth , computer science , economics , programming language
Background This study estimates the annual cost of alcohol‐related injuries to employers in 1998–2000. Methods Incidence was estimated with occupational injury data, motor vehicle crash data and health care data for 1998–2000. Employer costs were estimated from federal estimates of injury costs by source of payment using data on the percentage of varied payment streams (e.g., health insurance, sick leave) paid by employers. Results The annual employer cost of alcohol‐related injuries to employees and their dependents exceed $28.6 billion. Out of this, $13.2 billion comes from job‐related, alcohol‐involved injuries. The annual employer cost of motor vehicle crashes in which at least one driver was alcohol‐impaired is over $9.2 billion. Out of this, only $3.4 billion comes from job‐related alcohol involvement. Conclusion Safety programs can reduce the fringe benefit bill without reducing the benefits offered to employees. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.