Interesting Insurance Journal Article
Posted by Katrina Paglierani on Thu, Dec 10, 2009 @ 08:04 AM
I just read this article on insurancejournal.com and found it is worth recommending to my readers.
Injury Severity, Not Legal Fees, Drives Workers Comp Costs in Illinois
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2009/12/07/105760.htm
What attracted me to this article is that I was specifically researching the number of injured workers or percentage of employees that are out on workers comp in different industries and in different states. It turns out, those in the industry do not have those numbers readily available. But, I think that it is worth looking into for your own education and future planning. Especially considering the example shown in this article.
"For every 100 illinois construction worker there are 1.21 injuries per year." I also read recently that the average age of a construction worker is 44, up from 40 a few years earlier. This is probably due to the fact that people are staying in the workforce longer, retiring later.
In addition, at least in illinois, the construction workforce is projected to increase in different sectors anywhere from 10-15 percent in 2010. So, one would assume, there will be an increase of workers compensation claims that go along with that.
Construction injuries, according to the insurancejournal are usually extremity injuries or back injuries. From my experience, most of the construction cases we handle are back injuries and/or rotator cuff. These cases are the most expensive, because they go on for a long time. Also, they are more difficult to place and require dedication and special attention. Often, construction companies do not offer light or modified duty because they have no where to place the injured workers.
This is also true of manufacturing and transportation companies among others. My suggestions is that you take the time to find out what percentage of your workforce is out of workers compensation to get a handle on how much it is really costing you.
You may even want to plug it into the free "Sales to pay for Accidents" calculator on reduceyourworkerscomp.com
http://reduceyourworkerscomp.com/calculator.php
referenced article: http://ibjonline.com/print_swillinois_construction_workforce.html