CWCI: Payments on Sprains up 10% since last Reform

Benefit payments to workers who suffer from shoulder, arm, knee or lower leg sprains increased 10% since 2004, according to the California Workers’ Compensation Institute.CWCI said sprains account for 10.6% of workplace injuries but only 7.8% of workers’ compensation benefit payments from 2001 through 2011. Only 14% of sprains resulted in a permanent disability.Average paid loses on sprains were consistently below the average for all claims in California, but payments have been increasing in recent years.The average payment 36 months after injury on sprain claims filed in 2004 thro...