Workers’ compensation claims for musculoskeletal disorders and injuries of the upper extremity and knee among union carpenters in Washington State, 1989-2008

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 428-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hester J. Lipscomb ◽  
Ashley L. Schoenfisch ◽  
Wilfrid Cameron ◽  
Kristen L. Kucera ◽  
Darrin Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Extremity ◽  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Compensation Claims

Workers' Compensation Claims for Needlestick Injuries Among Healthcare Workers in Washington State, 1996-2000

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 775-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed M. Shah ◽  
David Bonauto ◽  
Barbara Silverstein ◽  
Michael Foley
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Needlestick Injury ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Nursing Facilities ◽  
Needlestick Injuries ◽  
Skilled Nursing ◽  
Compensation Claim ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
State Fund

AbstractObjectives:To characterize accepted workers' compensation claims for needlestick injuries filed by healthcare workers (HCWs) in non-hospital compared with hospital settings in Washington State.Design:Descriptive study of all accepted workers' compensation claims filed between 1996 and 2000 for needlestick injuries.Participants:All Washington State HCWs eligible to file a state fund workers' compensation claim and those who filed a workers' compensation claim for a needlestick injury.Results:There were 3,303 accepted state fund HCW needlestick injury claims. The incidence of needlestick injury claims per 10,000 full-time-equivalent HCWs in hospitals was 158.6; in dental offices, 104.7; in physicians' offices, 87.0; and in skilled nursing facilities, 80.8. The most common mechanisms of needlestick injury by work location were as follows: for hospitals, suturing and other surgical procedures (16.7%), administering an injection (12.7%), and drawing blood (10%); for dentists' offices, recapping (21.3%) and cleaning trays and instruments (18.2%); for physicians' offices, disposal (22.2%) and administering an injection (10.2%); and for skilled nursing facilities, disposal (23.7%) and administering an injection (14.9%). Nurses accounted for the largest (29%) proportion of HCWs involved, followed by dental assistants (17%) and laboratory technicians and phlebotomists (12%) in non-hospital settings. Rates of needlestick injury claims increased for non-hospital settings by 7.5% annually (95% confidence interval [CI95], 4.89% to 10.22%; P < .0001). Rates decreased for hospital settings by 5.8% annually, but the decline was not statistically significant (CI95, -12.50% to 1.34%; P < .1088). HCWs were exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency viruses in non-hospital settings.Conclusion:There was a difference in the incidence rate and mechanisms of needlestick injuries on review of workers' compensation claim records for HCWs in non-hospital and hospital settings.

Heat related illness among workers in Washington State: A descriptive study using workers' compensation claims, 2006‐2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 300-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martell Hesketh ◽  
Sara Wuellner ◽  
Amanda Robinson ◽  
Darrin Adams ◽  
Caroline Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Compensation Claims

The Costs of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Automotive Manufacturing

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Punnett
Keyword(s):  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Labor Turnover ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Automotive Manufacturing ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Compensation Claims

Inadequate application of ergonomic principles to the design of workplaces and individual jobs has adverse consequences for worker health and safety, especially in terms of strains, sprains, and other musculoskeletal disorders. In addition to the human pain and suffering, other losses are externalized to workers, with adverse financial and psychosocial impacts. There are also costs to employers through workers' compensation claims, scrap, and decreased production quality, medical insurance premiums, labor turnover, and adverse impacts on labor relations, although many of these are not linked by traditional accounting methods to ergonomic problems per se. Data collected in five plants of two major U.S. automotive manufacturing companies in the last decade have been used to estimate some of the costs associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), only some of which resulted in workers' compensation claims. In one plant in 1984–85, the payroll cost of all back and shoulder disorders was at least $320 per year per worker, not including workers' compensation premiums or claims paid. A large proportion of these costs were accrued by “unreported” cases, that is, cases that either had never been reported to the plant clinic or had been reported in the past and were considered administratively to have recovered. In the other four plants, annual costs associated with in-plant medical visits for MSDs in 1989–93 were almost as high as those resulting from compensation claims. At least one-half of these disorders were estimated to be attributable to physical ergonomic exposures in the workplace and thus preventable. These data are consistent with estimates by others that the real costs to employers are at least two to three times the amount paid in workers' compensation cases, and that at least 50 percent of all work-related musculoskeletal disorders among the working population could be prevented by appropriate ergonomic job design. Furthermore, recent experience with ergonomics programs in various manufacturing and service settings shows that they are cost-effective in reducing morbidity, work absenteeism, and workers' compensation claims; payback periods for workplace modifications can be as short as a few months. Further investigations should explore the reasons that monetary costs and other impacts on profitability do not always motivate employers to improve working conditions.

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