Costs of work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths in the European Union

Reasons for the study

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) is working to improve the information available on the costs and benefits of occupational health and safety (OHS). Its aim is to help European and country-specific OHS policy-makers set prevention priorities and strategies, allocate resources efficiently, and raise awareness of the costs of work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths among policy-makers outside the field of OHS. This study, funded by EU-OSHA, will help provide this information by estimating the costs of work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths in at least five EU countries.

Objectives of the study

  • To develop a cost-calculation model to estimate the costs of work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths
  • To apply the model to data from five EU countries to estimate the economic burden of work injuries, illnesses and deaths in these countries in the reference year 2015 
     

Target audience

This study's findings will be of particular interest to government policy-makers, employers and labour groups in European Union member states. The findings and methods will also be of interest to a broader, international audience because similar work has only been undertaken in a handful of countries (e.g. United States, Australia and Singapore). The study's methods will be of interest to occupational health and safety researchers and economists specializing in economic burden measurement.

Related interviews and articles

IWH Speaker Series presentations

Project status

Completed 2019

Research team

  • Emile Tompa, Institute for Work & Health (PI)
  • Amir Mofidi, Institute for Work & Health
  • Young Jung, Institute for Work & Health

Collaborators and partners

  • Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)
  • Valdani Vicari & Associations (VVA), Italy

Funded by

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work