Using linked federal and state data to study the adequacy of workers' compensation benefits

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boden L ; O'Leary P ; Ozonoff A ; Scherer E ; Seabury, Seth A.
• Description:
  Background: We combined federal and state administrative data to study the long-term earnings losses associated with occupational injuries and assess the adequacy of workers' compensation benefits. Methods: We linked state data on workers' compensation claims from New Mexico for claimants injured from 1994 to 2000 to federal earnings records from 1987 to 2007. We estimated earnings losses up to 10 years after injury and computed the fraction of losses replaced by benefits. Results: Workers with lost-time injuries lost an average of 15% of their earnings over the 10 years after injury. On average, workers' compensation income benefits replaced 16% of these losses. Men and women had similar losses and replacement rates. Workers with minor injuries had lower losses but also had lower replacement rates. Conclusion: Earnings losses after an injury are highly persistent, even for comparatively minor injuries. Income benefits replace a smaller fraction of those losses than previously believed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Men Occupational Health Safety Women Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Workers' Compensation Disability Compensation Disabled-workers Earnings Losses Humans Injured Workers Injuries Injury Cost Work-areas Work-environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; District of Columbia ; Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  57
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045049
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2014 Oct; 57(10):1165-1173
• Contact Point Address:
  Ethan Scherer, MPP, Pardee RAND Graduate School, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
• Email:
  escherer@prgs.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Boston University Medical Campus
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070901
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20110831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ee71dabd18ddeb4730238b8f377d708c1d8cc9807202c6c3e79836f2d30eea20392d77edd09d60156a6b2fe5cca61b87ae0948c1eec5567a2dad91444cda9ab2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200591/cdc_200591_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 365.01 KB ]