Bizarre workers compensation cases: the ten strangest workplace injuries of the past year

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
T.A. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Workplace Injuries ◽  
The Past

scholarly journals Industrial legislation in Australia, 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110082
Author(s):  
Eugene Schofield-Georgeson
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
State Governments ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wage Theft ◽  
Economic Stimulus ◽  
Liberal Government

In 2020, the Federal Morrison Liberal Government scrambled to respond to the effects of the international coronavirus pandemic on the Australian labour market in two key ways. First, through largescale social welfare and economic stimulus (the ‘JobKeeper’ scheme) and second, through significant proposed reform to employment laws as part of a pandemic recovery package (the ‘Omnibus Bill’). Where the first measure was administered by employers, the second was largely designed to suspend and/or redefine labour protections in the interests of employers. In this respect, the message from the Federal Government was clear: that the costs of pandemic recovery should be borne by workers at the discretion of employers. State Labor Governments, by contrast, enacted a range of industrial protections. These included the first Australia ‘wage theft’ or underpayment frameworks on behalf of both employees and contractors in the construction industry. On-trend with state industrial legislation over the past 4 years, these state governments continued to introduce industrial manslaughter offences, increased access to workers’ compensation, labour hire licensing schemes and portable long service leave.

scholarly journals P038: Comparison of diagnostic imaging rates between workplace and non-workplace injuries in the emergency department: a ten-year review

CJEM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. S78-S78
Author(s):  
A. Sampalli ◽  
C. LeBlanc ◽  
S. Campbell ◽  
M. Vohra
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Head Injuries ◽  
Central Zone ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Workplace Injuries ◽  
Work Related

Background: In Canada, injuries represent 21% of Emergency Department (ED) visits. Faced with occupational injuries, physicians may feel pressured to provide urgent imaging to facilitate expedited return to work. There is not a body of literature to support this practice. Twenty percent of adult ED injuries involve workers compensation. Aim Statement: Tacit pressures were felt to impact imaging rates for patients with workplace injuries, and our aim was to determine if this hypothesis was accurate. We conducted a quality review to assess imaging rates among injuries suffered at work and outside work. A secondary aim was to reduce the harm resulting from non-value-added testing. Measures & Design: Information was collected from the Emergency Department Information System on patients with acute injuries over the age of 16-years including upper limb, lower limb, neck, back and head injuries. Data included both workplace and non-work-related presentations, Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) levels and age at presentation. Imaging included any of X-ray, CT, MRI, or Ultrasound ordered in EDs across the central zone of Nova Scotia from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2019. A total of 282,860 patient-encounters were included for analysis. Comparison was made between patients presenting under the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB) and those covered by the Department of Health and Wellness (DOHW). Imaging rates for all injuries were also trended over this ten-year period. Evaluation/Results: In patients between 16 and 65-years, the WCB group underwent more imaging (55.3% of visits) than did the DOHW group (43.1% of visits). In the same cohort, there was an overall decrease of over 10% in mean imaging rates for both WBC and DOHW between the first five-year period (2009-2013) and the second five-year study period (2013-2018). Imaging rates for WCB and DOHW converged with each decade beyond 35 years of age. No comparison was possible beyond 85-years, due to the absence of WCB presentations. Discussion/Impact: Patients presenting to the ED with workplace injuries are imaged at a higher rate than those covered by the DOHW. Campaigns promoting value-added care may have impacted imaging rates during the ten-year study period, explaining the decline in ED imaging for all injuries. While this 10% decrease in overall imaging is encouraging, these preliminary data indicate the need for further education on resource stewardship, especially for patients presenting to the ED with workplace injuries.

Workers' Compensation, Moral Hazard and the Composition of Workplace Injuries

2002 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Bolduc ◽  
Bernard Fortin ◽  
France Labrecque ◽  
Paul Lanoie
Keyword(s):  
Moral Hazard ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Workplace Injuries

scholarly journals Legal and Insurance Concerns Following Concussion

Concussion ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 211-216
Author(s):  
Brian Hainline ◽  
Lindsey J. Gurin ◽  
Daniel M. Torres
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Compensation System ◽  
Musculoskeletal Injuries ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Workplace Injuries ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Concussion Management ◽  
Neurological Exam

When a concussion injury occurs in a workplace, employees may be required to use Workers’ Compensation insurance. There may be a limited pool of available clinicians who accept Workers’ Compensation insurance, which can delay proper concussion management. Further, workplace injuries may be associated with other musculoskeletal injuries; these other injuries may be managed first, thereby delaying appropriate concussion management. Concussion injuries may also lead to litigation, and being involved in a legal process has been associated with prolonged concussion symptoms. This of course must always be differentiated from brain injury, which should be appropriately compensated when negligence has occurred. For any patients who have suffered a concussion injury and who are in the Workers’ Compensation system or who are in the legal process, it is important to carefully document objective findings on the neurological exam.

Workplace injuries in the Australian allied health workforce

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Anderson ◽  
Rwth Stuckey ◽  
Lauren V Fortington ◽  
Jodi Oakman
Keyword(s):  
Allied Health ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Workplace Injuries ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Injury Rates ◽  
Allied Health Professions ◽  
Serious Injury ◽  
Absence From Work ◽  
Serious Injuries

Objective This study aims to identify the number, costs and reported injury mechanisms of serious injury claims for allied health professionals. Methods Using Australian Workers’ Compensation injury data, the number, mechanism, and costs of injury claims were calculated for eight groups of allied health professions (chiropractors and osteopaths, speech pathologists and audiologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, podiatrists, social workers and prosthetists/orthotists) between the 2000–01 and 2013–14 financial years. Workforce injury rates were calculated using the 2011 Australian Census Workforce data (denominator) and 2011 Workers’ Compensation Statistics claims data (numerator). Results Across the allied health professions, 7023 serious injuries (minimum 5 days absence from work) were recorded with an associated total compensation cost of A$201970000. Fewer than 1.5% of each allied health professional group had an injury claim, with the exception of prosthetists/orthotists who had a rate of 25.9% serious injury claims (95% confidence interval 21.9–30.4). The average cost per claim varied across the allied health professions, from the lowest cost of A$19091 per injury for occupational therapists to the highest of A$48466 per claim in chiropractic and osteopathy. Body stressing followed by mental stress were the most common mechanisms of injury. Conclusions Mechanism of injury, both physical and psychosocial, were identified. Prosthetists/orthotists are at the highest risk of workplace injury of all allied health professions. This suggests the need for further investigation and development of appropriately targeted injury prevention programs for each allied health profession. What is known about this topic? Retention of allied health professionals is a significant issue, with workplace injuries identified as one contributing factor to this problem. Healthcare workers are potentially at high risk of injury as they are exposed to a range of physical and psychosocial hazards in their workplace. What does this paper add? This paper is the first to report on serious injuries, minimum 5 days absence from work, from Australian Workers’ Compensation data, across a range of allied health professions. Various allied health professions were examined to identify the number, mechanism and cost of serious workplace injuries finding there is an average of 500 serious claims per year at a cost of A$14million. Prosthetists/orthotists were identified as having the highest proportion of claims per workforce population. What are the implications for practitioners? These results suggest highly varied injury rates across allied health professions. Compensation data does not enable accurate identification of causal factors. Further work is required to identify relevant causal factors so that targeted risk reduction strategies can be developed to reduce workforce injuries.

Reporting of Cumulative Trauma Disorders of the Upper Extremities may be Leveling off in the U.S.

1995 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 591-594
Author(s):  
George Erich Brogmus
Keyword(s):  
Upper Extremities ◽  
Cumulative Trauma Disorders ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Cumulative Trauma ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Group Workers ◽  
Trauma Disorders ◽  
Bureau Of Labor Statistics ◽  
The U.S

Since the early 1980's reporting of cumulative trauma disorders of the upper extremities (CTDUEs) has been increasing. The past few years have seen increasing attention given to these disorders. More recently, the premise that CTDUEs should be a top priority based on the magnitude of workers' compensation insurance claims and OSHA cases has been challenged. This paper provides data indicating that the reporting of CTDUEs in the U.S. may soon level off and the rate of increase of the number of CTDUEs as a percent of all cases reported in the U.S. has already significantly declined. Data from both the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Liberty Mutual Group workers' compensation claims indicate that even though the number of CTDUEs as a percent of all cases reported has been increasing over the past ten years, the rate of increase has declined steadily since 1991. If this trend continues, CTDUE reporting will level off in 1995. Possible reasons for these trends are briefly discussed.

Observations of the continuum near the galactic centre

1967 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 405
Author(s):  
F. J. Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Galactic Centre ◽  
The Past ◽  
Centre Region ◽  
The Continuum

A continuum survey of the galactic-centre region has been carried out at Parkes at 20 cm wavelength over the areal11= 355° to 5°,b11= -3° to +3° (Kerr and Sinclair 1966, 1967). This is a larger region than has been covered in such surveys in the past. The observations were done as declination scans.

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