The board’s report and records, then an hour a week until they’re back.
h$1,690
Overtime to cover the work
At time and a half; here, half their shifts while they’re off.
h$21,600
Hiring and training a replacement
Recruiting, orientation, the trainer’s time.
h$1,080
Lost output on modified work
The hours of output lost while they work their way back.
h$1,350
Damaged equipment, tools or material
Repairs, replacement, rentals, spoiled product.
$$0
Delays, penalties, lost bids
Late completion, a failed prequalification, a lost client.
$$0
Legal costs, orders and fines
Counsel, regulator orders, penalties.
$$0
3
The business
$
From your board’s rate notice, if you know it.
%
$
4
What it really costs
About $84,620
At a 5% profit margin, the business has to bring in $1,692,400 of extra sales to pay for it.
The claim
$56,840
Hidden costs
$27,780
0.5 × the claim
Premium
$0
over 3 years
Sales needed
$1,692,400
at 5% margin
Where the hidden costs go
Overtime to cover the work$21,600
Paperwork, claim and return to work$1,690
Lost output on modified work$1,350
Hiring and training a replacement$1,080
Investigation and report$780
Supervisor and manager time$650
Injured worker’s time lost on the day$270
First aid and getting them to care$180
Work stopped round the incident$180
The claim is what the board pays and charges back through your premium. The hidden costs are yours alone: no insurance covers them.
WCB-Alberta rates larger employers on three of the last four years of claim costs against their industry, up to 40% either way (more for repeat poor performers); smaller employers on their lost-time claims over five years.
An estimate to plan with. It leaves out what can't be priced: the worker's pain and their family's, and what the crew goes through.
Prevent the next one
One incident like this pays for a lot of prevention.
TruStar Connect puts hazard assessments, inspections, incident investigations, corrective actions and training on every phone on site, offline, so the near miss gets reported and fixed before it becomes a claim.
Enter an incident, or start from your province's average lost-time claim, and this calculator adds up what it really costs: the claim, the hidden costs under the waterline, the premium increase, and how much extra revenue the business has to bring in to pay for it at its profit margin.
The cost below the waterline
The claim is the part everyone sees. Underneath it are the costs the employer carries alone: the shift that stopped, the supervisor's week, the investigation, the overtime, the replacement who has to be found and trained, the work that slows down while the injured worker comes back. No insurance covers them, and they come straight out of profit.
Price the hours at their full cost: wage plus benefits and payroll costs.
Count the people who stopped work, not only the one who was hurt.
A lost-time claim stays on your experience rating for three years or more.
Every dollar of cost takes many dollars of sales
At a 5% margin, a $100,000 incident takes $2,000,000 in new sales just to break even. Prevention is almost always cheaper.
Sources: AWCBC, Key Statistical Measures (2024 benefit costs per lost-time claim and composite duration; Yukon and Canada from 2023); WorkSafeBC, Workplace Incident Cost Calculator (the hours-and-rate method); US OSHA, $afety Pays (the sliding indirect cost ratios from the Business Roundtable study); Institute for Work & Health (2022); WCB-Alberta, WorkSafeBC and WSIB experience rating. An estimate to plan with, not an accounting.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a workplace injury cost in Canada?
The average lost-time claim cost $56,840 in Alberta, $40,717 in BC, $35,702 in Ontario and $37,936 in Quebec in 2024 (AWCBC, benefit costs per lost-time claim, including expected future costs). The hidden costs to the employer come on top: supervisor and investigation time, overtime, replacement and training, lost output and damage, commonly estimated at 2 to 4 times the claim.
What are the indirect costs of an incident?
The costs no insurance covers: the rest of the shift, first aid and transport, work stopped round the incident, supervisor and management time, the investigation, paperwork and claim management, overtime to cover, hiring and training a replacement, lost output on modified work, damaged equipment and material, delays and lost bids, and legal costs or fines.
How much in sales does it take to cover the cost of an injury?
Divide the total cost by your profit margin. At a 5% margin, an injury that costs the business $100,000 takes $2,000,000 in extra sales to pay for: every dollar of cost needs twenty dollars of revenue.
Does a claim raise my WCB premium?
Yes, through experience rating. WCB-Alberta rates larger employers on three years of claim costs against their industry, up to 40% either way; WorkSafeBC weighs three years of claims; the WSIB looks at six. A claim can cost more in premiums than the claim itself over those years.
Stop paying for incidents you could have prevented
TruStar Connect gets hazards, near misses and inspections reported from every phone on site, tracks every corrective action to done, and keeps your safety program ready for your COR audit.
