A new report that examines the growing prescription opioid abuse epidemic and its effect on the U.S. construction workforce estimates that 15.1 percent of construction workers have engaged in illicit drug use. The report from CNA, Construction: Prescription Opioid Abuse, also provides risk management strategies to address this issue.
"By partnering with leading construction and manufacturing associations, we have seen increased concern about prescription opioid abuse, as well as how it increases worker injuries and businesses' losses," said John Tatum, senior vice president, Middle Market. "Many of these associations are developing programs to educate their members about the issue in order to provide the tools, training and resources they need to address opioid abuse in their own workplaces."
"The opioid abuse epidemic is taking a toll on many aspects of the U.S. economy, including businesses' workers' compensation losses," said Bill Boyd, senior vice president, CNA Risk Control. "The delay of returning injured employees to work can affect operations and, therefore, negatively impact a company's bottom line. Opioid abuse is a real and emerging risk for businesses to consider, and through these Risk Outlooks, I hope our customers will learn solutions to avoid return-to-work pitfalls."
The first Risk Outlook, Impacts of the Great Recession, was published in 2014 and analyzed claim data to help construction contractors understand the risks their businesses have been exposed to because of the Great Recession. CNA will continue to release Risk Outlooks on emerging topics for its key customer segments on a rolling basis.
