More than Meets the Eye: Social, Economic, and Emotional Impacts of Work-Related Injury and Illness

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Lax ◽  
Rosemary Klein
Keyword(s):  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Injured Workers ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Occupational Illness ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Retirement Funds ◽  
Financial Impacts ◽  
The Impact

The impact of an occupational illness or injury on an injured worker can be severe. This study assessed several dimensions of the impact on a group of 50 injured workers, all patients at an Occupational Health Center. The dimensions assessed included aspects of access to health care, support from treating physicians in obtaining Workers' Compensation benefits, financial impacts, the role of attorneys and “Independent Medical Examiners,” and the impact on mental health. The results showed almost two-thirds of respondents lost their health insurance after diagnosis with a work-related illness or injury, most for more than a year. Many reported that their treating physician did not want to become involved in Workers' Compensation, despite indicating a belief that the health condition was work-related. The financial impacts of a work-related diagnosis were particularly striking, with respondents reporting that they were burdened with both costs directly related to the medical care of their condition, and with coping with ongoing general expenses on a reduced income. Many respondents reported depleting savings, borrowing money, taking out retirement funds, and declaring bankruptcy in efforts to cope. Emotionally, respondents almost universally reported their diagnosis and related issues were associated with depression, anxiety, and loss of identity and self-worth. This study demonstrates how a work-related injury or illness can extend far beyond the physical impact for injured workers. Existing systems fail to adequately compensate or rehabilitate injured workers, leaving them to their own devices to deal with their losses, medical or otherwise.

scholarly journals O2C.2 Does region of residence matter for return-to-work after work-related injury? A comparative analysis of six canadian workers’ compensation jurisdictions

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A16.1-A16
Author(s):  
Robert Macpherson ◽  
Hui Shen ◽  
Mieke Koehoorn ◽  
Benjamin Amick ◽  
Alex Collie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Return To Work ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Work Disability ◽  
Injured Workers ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Disability Benefits ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Urban Rural

ObjectivesTo investigate regional differences in return-to-work following work-related injury and whether these differences persist after adjusting for individual characteristics.MethodsWorkers’ compensation claims from six Canadian provinces were used to create comparable cohorts of workers aged 15–80 with a work-related injury resulting in at least one disability day from 2011 to 2015. Workers’ residential postal codes were mapped to Census standard geographic units to categorize workers into six regions representing decreasing urban density and metropolitan influence (ranging from large urban areas of 100,000+people to rural areas of <10 000 people with no metropolitan influence). Cox regression models were used to estimate the effect of urban-rural residence on the likelihood of injured workers transitioning off work disability benefits within one-year post-injury, adjusting for confounders, including provincial compensation jurisdiction. Models were stratified by industry sectors.ResultsThe cohort included 7 46 029 work disability claims, of which the majority resided in large urban areas (69%). Unadjusted models showed that workers residing in smaller urban and rural areas had a lower likelihood of transitioning off work disability benefits compared to those in large urban areas. Urban-rural differences persisted in adjusted models (e.g. HR=0.91 95% CI 0.89, 0.94 for workers in rural areas with no metropolitan influence). Industry-stratified models showed that greater differences existed between urban and rural places of residence for workers in the transportation and construction sectors, and smaller differences for workers in the health care and manufacturing sectors.ConclusionsThe main finding suggests that injured workers in more rural areas face barriers in returning to work and that workers’ compensation resources may need to be allocated to address these regional disparities. Future research will incorporate both individual and regional-level variables in a multilevel model framework to identify the characteristics that are the most important in explaining variability in work disability duration.

Impairment Tutorial: Rating Facial Disfigurement After an Injury

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-6
Author(s):  
Marc T. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Current Work ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Facial Disfigurement ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Compensation Claim ◽  
Impairment Ratings

Abstract This article discusses two important cases that involve the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides). First, in Vargas v Industrial Com’n of Arizona, a claimant had a pre-existing non–work-related injury to his right knee as well as a work-related injury, and the issue was apportionment of the pre-existing injury. The court held that, under Arizona's statute, the impairment from the pre-existing injury should be subtracted from the current work-related impairment. In the second case, Colorado courts addressed the issue of apportionment in a workers’ compensation claim in which the pre-existing injury was asymptomatic at the time of the work-related injury (Askey v Industrial Claim Appeals Office). In this case, the court held that the worker's benefits should not be reduced to account for an asymptomatic pre-existing condition that could not be rated accurately using the AMA Guides. The AMA Guides bases impairment ratings on anatomic or physiologic loss of function, and if an examinee presents with two or more sequential injuries and calculable impairments, the AMA Guides can be used to apportion between pre-existing and subsequent impairments. Courts often use the AMA Guides to decide statutorily determined benefits and are subject to interpretation by courts and administrative bodies whose interpretations may vary from state to state.

scholarly journals Cannabis use and work-related injuries: a cross-sectional analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 570-577
Author(s):  
J C Zhang ◽  
N Carnide ◽  
L Holness ◽  
P Cram
Keyword(s):  
Injury Risk ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Cannabis User ◽  
Occupational Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Cross Sectional Analysis ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Sectional Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Although the association of cannabis use with automobile accidents has been well-studied, the impact of cannabis on workplace safety and injuries is less clear. Aims The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between work-related injury and cannabis use in the past year. Methods We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey (2013–16) of working individuals. We used multiple logistic regression modelling to calculate the odds of experiencing a work-related injury (defined as non-repetitive strain injury) among workers who reported using cannabis more than once during the prior 12 months as compared to non-users. We repeated the analysis among participants working in high injury risk occupational groups only. Results Among the 136 536 working participants, 2577 (2%) had a work-related injury in the last 12 months. Of these 2577 who had a work-related injury, 4% also reported being a cannabis user in the same period. We found no association between past-year cannabis use and work-related injury (odds ratio for work injury among users 0.81, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.99). The association was unchanged in the subgroup analysis limited to high injury risk occupational groups. Conclusions We found no evidence that cannabis users experienced higher rates of work-related injuries. While awaiting prospective studies, occupational medicine practitioners should take a risk-based approach to drafting workplace cannabis policies.

scholarly journals Work Schedule Irregularity and the Risk of Work-Related Injury among Korean Manual Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7617
Author(s):  
Won-Tae Lee ◽  
Sung-Shil Lim ◽  
Jihyun Kim ◽  
Sehyun Yun ◽  
Jin-Ha Yoon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Safety Information ◽  
Productivity Loss ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Work Schedule ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
The Impact

Work schedules comprise various variables and generate health and safety outcomes, including work-related injury, which causes socioeconomic problems, such as productivity loss and damage to worker health. We investigated the association between work schedule irregularity and the incidence of work-related injury among South Korean manual workers using data from the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey. In total, 18,330 manual workers were included. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to understand the association between work schedule and work-related injury and the influence of sufficient safety information and work schedule on work-related injury. We calculated the influence of an irregular work schedule on occupational injury after controlling for personal and work environment-related factors. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for work-related injury was 1.66 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.32–2.09) for an irregular work schedule. The interaction had an additive effect when the work schedule was irregular, even when sufficient safety information was provided. Manual workers had a higher incidence of injury (2.1%). Even in adjusted analyses, work schedule irregularity conferred greater risks of work injury, particularly when not working the same number of days weekly (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.21–1.90). Policymakers and health professionals need to consider the impact of work schedule irregularity on worker safety and health.

scholarly journals O2C.5 Increasing costs of occupational injuries in association with high ambient temperatures in adelaide, south australia, 2000–2014

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A17.2-A17
Author(s):  
Jianjun Xiang ◽  
Alana Hansen ◽  
Dino Pisaniello ◽  
Peng Bi
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Retail Trade ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Compensation Costs

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of ambient temperature on compensation costs due to work-related injuries, and to provide an evidence base about the economic benefits of developing workplace heat prevention strategies in a warming climate.MethodsWorkers’ compensation claims obtained from SafeWork South Australia for 2000–2014 were transformed into daily time series format and merged with meteorological data. The relationship between temperature and compensation costs were estimated using a generalized linear model after controlling for long-term trends, seasonality, and day of week. A piecewise linear spline function was used to account for non-linearity.ResultsA total of 4 64 139 workers’ compensation claims were reported during the 15 year period in South Australia, resulting in AU$14.9 billion dollars compensation payment. Overall, it is a reversed V-shaped temperature-cost association. A 1°C increase in maximum temperature was associated with a 1.1% (95% CI, 0.2%–2.0%) increase in daily injury compensation expenditure below 35.2°C. Specifically, significant increases of injury costs were observed in males (1.4%, 95% CI 0.3%–2.5%), young workers (3.0%, 95% CI 1.2%–4.9%), older workers≥65 years (2.4%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.4%), labourers (2.7%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.8%), machinery operators and drivers (3.5%, 95% CI 1.6%–5.3%) and the following industries: agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (12.3%, 95% CI 2.2%–23.3%); construction (7.8%, 95% CI 0.02%–16.3%); and wholesale and retail trade (2.4%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.4%). Costs for compensating occupational burns and ‘skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases’ increased by 3.1% (95% CI 1.2%–5.1%) and 2.7% (95% CI 0.1%–5.4%) respectively, with a 1°C increase in maximum temperature.ConclusionThere is a significant association between temperature and work-related injury compensation costs in Adelaide, South Australia for certain subgroups. Heat attributable workers’ compensation costs may increase with the predicted rising temperature.

scholarly journals The impact of work injury and permanent impairment on the probability of poverty

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emile Tompa
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Injured Workers ◽  
Simple Random Sample ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Work Injury ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Permanent Disability ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Poverty Levels

Objectives: We investigate the prevalence of poverty across different workers compensation programs using large representative samples of workers’ compensation claimants who have sustained a permanent impairment from a work injury. The programs, which have existed in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, Canada over the last 25 years, are the Permanent Disability (PD) program, the Future Economic Loss (FEL) program, the Loss of Earnings (LOE) program, and the Bifurcated Benefits (BB) program. The nature of benefit determination and the return to work supports provided by the four programs are very different. The focus of the study is on evidence of programmatic impact on the probability of poverty in the nine years post injury.Methods: The study included claimants sampled from each of the four programs who sustained a permanent impairment from a work injury. Claimants were identified in a Revenue Canada tax database know as the Longitudinal Administrative Databank (LAD), which is a longitudinal 20% simple random sample of all Canadian tax filers. Each claimant was matched with similar uninjured controls that were also in the LAD, based on sex, age, labour-market earnings amounts and trajectories in the four years prior to injury, family income, marital status, number of children, and a propensity score. Descriptive analysis was undertaken to compare near poverty, poverty and deep poverty levels of claimants relative to their match controls using data on family and individual earnings over a ten-year period post injury. Statistical modeling was used to determine the probability of poverty and near poverty for claimants versus controls. A key issue of interest was to determine was whether the probability of poverty differed between programs.Results: Based on after-tax adjusted family income, the level of poverty was quite low, less than 2% in every program over a ten-year period. The level of poverty was also lower for claimants than their matched controls, but only nominally so. The BB program had the lowest proportion of poverty followed by the PD program, the FEL program and then the LOE program. In the statistical modelling analysis male claimants did not have a higher probability of poverty compared to controls, though female claimants did. Both male and female claimants had a higher probability of near poverty.Conclusions: Poverty levels are very low for workers’ compensation claimants who sustain permanent impairments from a work injury across different programs and time periods in Ontario and British Columbia. Overall the Bifurcated Benefits program from British Columbia had the lowest proportion of claimants in poverty in absolute terms and relative to non-injured workers. Increased levels of poverty due to work injury and permanent impairment are particularly a concern for female claimants, though both female and male claimants have a higher chance of near poverty compared to non-injured workers.

Underreporting of Work-Related Injury or Illness to Workers??? Compensation: Individual and Industry Factors

2006 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 914-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Joyce Fan ◽  
David K. Bonauto ◽  
Michael P. Foley ◽  
Barbara A. Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury

Literature Review

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
James B. Talmage
Keyword(s):  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Disability Benefits ◽  
Fourth Edition ◽  
Permanent Disability ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Whole Person ◽  
Compensation Law

Abstract Evaluating physicians should understand how their impairment evaluations are used, and to these ends Section 1.5 of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Fourth Edition, discusses impairment and workers’ compensation. Permanent disability rewards may be paid according to a schedule that associates impairments of certain body parts, functions, or systems (eg, amputation or loss of sight or hearing) with specific awards. Typically, a schedule in the workers’ compensation law equates disability and a maximum number of weeks of benefits, but what occurs when an injured worker has both scheduled and unscheduled injuries? Under Colorado statute, scheduled injuries involve those to the neck, head, torso, and any injury not specifically enumerated in the statutory schedule. Because schedules usually do not cover all conditions following injuries, nonscheduled awards are available and are based on the extent of impairment, the nature of the injury, and the employee's occupation, experience, training, and age. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that when a work-related injury results in both a scheduled and a nonscheduled injury, the scheduled injury must be converted to a whole person impairment rating and combined with the nonscheduled injury's whole person impairment when calculating permanent disability benefits. In its decision, the court relied heavily on and cited provisions in the AMA Guides.

Coverage Gaps and Cost-Shifting for Work-Related Injury and Illness: Who Bears the Financial Burden?

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-235
Author(s):  
Jeanne M. Sears ◽  
Amy T. Edmonds ◽  
Norma B. Coe
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Occupational Injury ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Flow Diagram ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Cost Shifting ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury

The heavy economic burden of work-related injury/illness falls not only on employers and workers’ compensation systems, but increasingly on health care systems, health and disability insurance, social safety net programs, and workers and their families. We present a flow diagram illustrating mechanisms responsible for the financial burden of occupational injury/illness borne by social safety net programs and by workers and their families, due to cost-shifting and gaps in workers’ compensation coverage. This flow diagram depicts various pathways leading to coverage gaps that may shift the burden of occupational injury/illness-related health care and disability costs ultimately to workers, particularly the most socioeconomically vulnerable. We describe existing research and important research gaps linked to specific pathways in the flow diagram. This flow diagram was developed to facilitate more detailed and comprehensive research into the financial burden imposed by work-related injury/illness, in order to focus policy efforts where improvement is most needed.

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