Category: Workers’ Compensation
On-duty Injuries Among Ohio Law Enforcement Officers
Law enforcement officers (LEOs) face many workplace hazards. Current research does not include a complete picture of nonfatal injuries that officers sustain while on-duty. Workers’ compensation (WC) data are an underutilized source for occupational injury surveillance in the law enforcement field. A recently published research article explored patterns and characteristics of workers’ compensation injury claims over Read More >
Posted on byVisualizing Ohio Workers’ Compensation Claims by Event/Exposure
Research has shown that large state datasets of workers’ compensation (WC) claims can be successfully linked to state employment data to examine claim counts and rates by industry and cause of injury.1-6 This can give us better insight into industry trends, helping to focus attention towards areas where employers and workers would benefit most Read More >
Posted on byExploring Workers’ Compensation Injury Claims among Firefighters
A recently published research article explored patterns and characteristics of workers’ compensation injury claims over a 17-year period among firefighters in Ohio. Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) collaborated with the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (OHBWC) to conduct the study, which provided valuable insights into the occupational health Read More >
Posted on bySafety Intervention Grant Programs Can Be Effective in Preventing Workplace Injuries
Workers’ compensation (WC) insurers and other organizations offer grant programs to fund employers to install equipment and other engineering changes to improve workplace safety. Research provides some evidence that these types of programs can be effective in preventing workplace injuries. As a key example, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (OHBWC) since 1999 has Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentSeasoned Employees in the Landscaping Services Industry
As in many other industries, the average age for workers in the landscaping services industry* has been rising, from 38.1 in 2011 to 40.9 in 2019. While knowledge and skills generally improve with age, physical abilities such as strength, reaction time, and balance may decline. Typically, the injury rate for older workers is lower than Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsAre Insurer Risk Control Services Effective?
Workers’ Compensation Risk Control Workers’ compensation insurance systems provide medical care and lost-time wage payments for workers who are injured or become ill due to work. Workers’ compensation insurers also provide employer risk control services including: Onsite risk assessment visits Video-based safety and ergonomic job analyses Industrial hygiene air/noise sampling, and physical hazard assessments Safety Read More >
Posted on byWhat Measures Can Companies Use to Evaluate Safety Management Practices and Identify Opportunities for Improvement?
What measures can companies use to evaluate safety efforts and identify opportunities for improvement? The most commonly used measures of safety performance are lagging indicators such as injury counts and costs.1,2 While lagging indicators can be beneficial, using them as the only measure of safety can be a barrier to safety improvement. For example, Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsWCI Coverage of Cannabis Costs for Work-related Health Conditions
The use of cannabis for treatment of work-related health conditions and coverage under workers’ compensation are emerging occupational health and safety issues. Currently 36 states and the District of Columbia (DC) have laws that make cannabis available to consumers with qualifying medical conditions.[1] While the allowable medical conditions vary by state, they include cancer, Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentWorkers’ Compensation Data Sheds Light on Hazards in Landscaping
Landscaping is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States, with higher-than-average rates of both fatal and nonfatal injuries when compared to all industries. Jobs include landscape construction, tree care services, lawn and cemetery care, right of way maintenance, seasonal property maintenance (such as snow removal), and weed control (except crop). NIOSH established Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsCannabis and Work: Implications, Impairment, and the Need for Further Research
American workplaces are facing unprecedented challenges related to the rapidly evolving landscape of cannabis legalization and its increasing use among workers. Cannabis[1] is the most frequently used illicit drug (by Federal law) among Americans, with an estimated 43.5 million past-year users age 12 or older in 2018 (1). Nearly 18% of adults employed full-time, Read More >
Posted on by 21 CommentsWork-Related Low-Back Injury and Increased Rate of Death
Do certain types of work-related disabilities lead to an increased rate of death? This question has not been well studied. Recently published research, “Increased overall and cause‐specific mortality associated with disability among workers’ compensation claimants with low back injuries,” examined the issue. [1] The study found that those with a lost-time disabling low-back workers’ compensation Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsInjury Among Temporary and Permanent Workers in Ohio
There are an estimated 1.4 million temporary help agency workers in the US.[i] However, to date, there has been limited research comparing injury rates of temporary and permanent workers. NIOSH recently published “Comparative analyses of workers’ compensation claims of injury among temporary and permanent employed workers in Ohio” in the American Journal of Industrial Medicinehttp://at Read More >
Posted on byAI and Workers’ Comp
The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine just awarded the article “Applying Machine Learning to Workers’ Compensation Data to Identify Industry-Specific Ergonomic and Safety Prevention Priorities, Ohio, 2001 to 2011” with an Adolph G. Kammer Merit in Authorship Award for the best article published in their journal last year. The article details how researchers used Read More >
Posted on by 6 CommentsWorkplace Accidents, Occupational Illness and the Long Road to Workers’ Compensation and Safety Policies around the World
Workers’ Memorial Day1 takes place annually around the world on April 28 as an international day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work. This day also commemorates the enactment of the United States’ Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, put into effect on April 28, 1971. Read More >
Posted on by 5 CommentsBeyond Determining Compliance: How Can Workers’ Compensation Insurers’ Exposure Data Be Improved and Used?
The workers’ compensation system can be used for more than processing work-related illness or injury insurance claims. The data collected through this system provide valuable information to identify how these injuries and illnesses happen, so that they can be prevented. In recent years, use of workers’ compensation injury and illness data in the public health Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsWorker Recovery and Return to Work
Work-related disability is associated with many negative health and social outcomes including reduced quality of life, job loss, reduced lifetime income, injuries among family caregivers, and premature death. For example, a recent NIOSH-funded study found that workers who suffer serious injuries requiring days away from work are more likely to die sooner than workers with Read More >
Posted on by 10 CommentsThe Opioid Overdose Epidemic and the Workplace
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released troubling statistics on the growing epidemic of drug and opioid overdose deaths in the United States. The origins of this epidemic have been linked to prescription opioids. While it is unknown how many drug and opioid overdose deaths are associated with workplace injuries and Read More >
Posted on by 42 CommentsA NIOSH Role in Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
*NCCI has released new data since the posting of this blog. Recent workers’ compensation studies reveal controlled substances accounted for 29% of prescription drug costs in 2014. Prescription drug abuse and overdoses are a major public health concern (Health, United States 2013). The CDC reports that opioid overdose deaths in particular have quadrupled since 1999, Read More >
Posted on by 39 CommentsUsing Workers’ Compensation Records for Safety and Health Research
Workers’ compensation insurance has been established in all states to provide income protection, medical treatment, and rehabilitation for employees who are injured or become ill as a result of work. Workers’ compensation claims and medical treatment records along with other information resources have been used to conduct occupational safety and health research and surveillance and Read More >
Posted on by 69 Comments