Cost of injuries soars to $542m

Sport injuries cost ACC more than road crashes in 2016, with payouts totalling $542 million.

ACC figures from 2016 show the gap is closing between the numbers of claims from New Zealand’s biggest contact sport – rugby – and claims related to fitness training accidents at the gym.

Some 62,337 New Zealanders claimed injuries on the rugby field in 2016, while 51,319 injuries occurred inside the gym.

Nationally, rugby injuries cost New Zealanders $78.2m a year.

ACC approved 499,629 claims for sports injuries last year, costing $542m – up from $508m in 2015. It paid over $3 billion to New Zealanders in 2016 with $435m of that being for injuries from road accidents.

Rugby was the leading sport for injury payouts. Payouts rose from $76m in 2016 and have gone up from $67m in 2013.

Most rugby claims were for broken and dislocated bones, knee injuries, ligament damage and concussions (2401 cases in 2016).

ACC injury prevention portfolio manager Isaac Carlson acknowledged rugby injury claims were higher than other sports injuries and the sport had always been the biggest claimant. He said ACC had increased its investment to $7m in its ‘‘rugbysmart’’ programme until 2020 in the aim to prevent injuries.

Carlson said while ‘‘rugby costs’’ had risen each year this was because of an increase in player numbers and the rising cost of treatment.

Registrations over the past three years had increased by over 5000, while injury claims had dropped by nearly 4000. Costs, however, had risen.

Gym was the second-most claimed upon sport in New Zealand behind rugby.

Carlson put this down to growing membership numbers and a greater range of activities such as Crossfit.