Unraveling the Workers' Comp Crisis Part I

Saturday, March 25, 2006 | 0

by Dennis Downing

Ergonomics and back injury programs are common themes that may be discredited by those who have already tried them and failed. How about something new--Bionomics injury prevention programs? It is new, which is usually a good thing.

The Growing Problem

Workers compensation costs have been a growing problem for years. Back injuries, carpal tunnel and other very prevalent and expensive injuries cost corporate America over a billion dollars per week.

Companies have gone out of business; laid off employees; moved out of costly states such as California; curtailed growth; and have seen valuable and loyal employees struck down with injuries.

Lost Work Days Stats

A total of 1.4 million injuries and illnesses in private industry required recuperation away from work beyond the day of the incident in 2002, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.

The two occupations with the greatest number of such injuries and illnesses - truck drivers and nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants - offer examples of the characteristics of these cases.

Of the 112,200 injured truck drivers, 93 percent were men. Half of their injuries were sprains or strains, often to the trunk or lower extremities, stemming from overexertion, contacts with objects or equipment, or falls.

In contrast, 91 percent of the 79,000 injured nursing aides and related workers were women. They predominantly suffered sprains and strains to their trunk (typically their back), due to overexertion related to lifting or moving patients. In goods-producing industries such as construction and manufacturing, which make up about 20 percent of private industry employment but account for 1/3 of injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work, contact with objects and equipment - such as being struck by an object - was the most prevalent event. This is in contrast to service-producing industries, which make up 80 percent of private industry employment and account for two-thirds of the most severe injuries and illnesses. In these industries, overexertion - especially overexertion by lifting - was the most prevalent event.

The leaky roof

Chisel this in granite regarding Workers Compensation Costs: "If the problem persists - then the true cause has not been discovered."

A leaky roof will continue to drip until you find and repair the exact source of the leak. People, in general, do not like problems that won't resolve. We aim to solve them in order to make our home and work lives more enjoyable and productive.

So what's up with the spiraling costs of workers comp that just won't go away? In fact, in most cases, it is getting worse.

Companies of all sizes are affected by this problem. The solutions have typically been:

* Investments in return-to-work programs
* Utilization review
* Claims management
* Management of the care
* Manage what physicians to use
* Conferences to discover how to manage workers compensation costs better
* In California "the Terminator" was elected on a promise to fix the problem
Yet, workers compensation managers, while working to close today's claims, know that tomorrow brings with it a whole stack of new ones to work on. This is a no win situation.

The workers compensation problem continues to rage, mostly, unabated. This can only mean one thing: the true source of the problem has yet to be addressed. Is there one basic element that, if addressed, would result in a dramatic decrease in workers compensation costs?

That is the $50 Billion question - what is the real problem and what is its effective solution?

The Answer

The answer lies in the fact that we are trying to solve the wrong problem. The "strategies" described above, being vigorously employed by workers' compensation professionals, are all post injury strategies. These strategies can be effective to lower the costs of claims. However, companies have fallen into a trap of believing the only way to solve workers compensation costs is to control the costs after the injury. That will never solve the problem as evidenced by the out-of-control costs.

What is the one thing that if addressed would solve this decade old problem? The lowest common denominator is the injured worker! If employees' injuries are controlled, workers compensation costs are controlled.

The best way to manage a workers compensation claim is to prevent it from happening in the first place. There is now evidence that a proven training methodology exists that prevents back injuries, carpal tunnel and other work related MSD's (Musculoskeletal Disorders).

There is no conflict of purpose from the workforce. Employees do not want to become injured. Employers do not want employees to become injured. Unions do not want their members injured. Thus, there is no conflict of purpose. This in itself creates a great environment in which to succeed.

The second part of the article series will review some live returns on several ergonomic programs.

Article by Dennis Downing of Future Industrial Technologies, info@backsafe.com Tel: (805) 967-2485 Visit the website - www.backsafe.com

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The views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of workcompcentral.com, its editors or management.