Workers comp costs

1. Injury and Claim Trends in the Ohio
Workers’ Compensation System
Abe Tarawneh, Ph.D.;
Michael Lampl ,M.S., CPE;
David Robins; and
Don Bentley, PE, CIH
Use of Workers’ Compensation Data for Occupational
Safety and Health Workshop
Washington DC, June 19-20, 2012
Draft circulated for discussion purposes. The findings and conclusions in this presentations are
those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization.

2. Overview
• Ohio
o Population: 7th largest
o Economy: 8th largest
o Manufacturing: 3rd largest
• Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
o Largest WC state fund
o Sixth underwriter of WC in the nation
o Coverage for 70% of Ohio’s workforce
o Over 250,000 policies
o 1.2 million active claims

3. Frequency of claims
LT & MO claim count (2000-2009)
250
200
Claim Count (Thousands)
150
100
50
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Medical Only Claims (MO) Lost Time Claims (LT)

4. Severity of claims
LT & MO 30-month aged indemnity and medical costs (2000-2009)
30-Month Aged Indemnity and Medical Costs ($ Millions)
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

5. Severity of claims
Description of selected ICD9 codes (2000-2008)
Optimal RTW ICD9 Code Claim Claim Total Average Cost/Claim
ICD9 Code Description Count Count Cost
Rank Rank
722.1 Lumbar disc 16,042 21 1 $57,860
displacement
847.2 Sprain Lumbar 106,927 2 2 $2761
region
840.4 Sprain rotator 13,372 26 3 $42,656
cuff
836 Meniscus of 11,329 29 4 $37,672
knee current
Claim count rank between 2000-2008
Optimal RTW 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
ICD9 Code
722.1 23 21 20 20 20 20 22 21 21
847.2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
840.4 32 28 27 26 24 24 24 23 22
836 40 33 32 28 29 29 28 24 25

6. Distribution of selected back, shoulder and knee
claims by causation (2007-2008)
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Lumbar Disc Displacement Sprain Rotator Cuff Tear Medial Meniscus

7. Causation information for LT claims
Contact with
2009 OSHA Recordables 2009 Ohio Occupational Claims
Lost Time temperature
disease extremes
Striking
Transportation Caught In, On, Contact with 2% 1%
against object
Transportation
Related or Between Temperature 4%
related
5% 4% Extremes 4%
<1 %
Caught in,
on or
Struck by between
Striking Object
5%
Fall or slip
Against Object 12% 30%
6% Fall or Slip
25%
Struck by
object
10%
Overexertion Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous 14%
25%
18%
Overexertion
30%
Number of national
cases with days away Occupational
Disease Number of Ohio lost-
from work = 1,238,500 5%
time Claims coded =
20,169

8. Cost analysis Lost Time
Claims
Striki
2009 Average Claim Cost* ng Distribution of total cost Transporation
again Related
st an 7%
60
objec
50 t
3%
40
Miscellaneous
30 11%
X $1000
20
10
0
Fall or Slip
Overexertion 34%
27%
Struck by
Contact with
object
Temperature
10%
Extremes Caught In, On, Occupational
1% or Between Disease
5% 2%
* 30 month aged with reserves

9. Top 10 causes of lost time injuries in 2009
(% of total cost)
Overexertion
30.0%
28.5%
Fall on same Liberty Mutual Data
level Fall Ohio BWC Data*
17.7% to/from
16.9% diff. level
15.1%
Bodily
reaction Struck by
object
12.0% 11.8%
11.1%
10.4% Caught
Transportation in, on
8.1% or Struck
Slips between against Repetitive
5.5% object motion
5.5%
4.9% 4.6% 4.5% 4.4% Violent act
Other
2.9% 2.5% 2.5%
1.3%
* Ohio data reflects total cost at 30 months with reserves (n= 20,360)

10. Causation information for LT claims
2010 Ohio Lost Time Claims
Transportation Caught In, On
Related or Between
4% 5% Contact With
Temperature
Extremes
Struck by 1%
Striking Object
Against Object 10%
4%
Fall or Slip
32%
Overexertion
30%
Miscellaneous
12%
Total Number of Ohio
Occupational Lost-Time Claims
Disease
2% Coded = 15,367

11. Sub-causes of falls in LT claims (2010)
Ramp 0.7%
Roof 0.9%
Curb 1.2%
Cords 2.1%
Inside Surface 3.1%
Outside Surface 4.6%
Ladder 6.9%
Motor Vehicle/Trailer 7.4%
Stairs 8.0%
Unknown 9.0%
Objects 10.4%
Water/Grease 12.0%
Miscellaneous 14.1%
Ice/Snow 19.6%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0%

12. Overexertion injuries by subtopic (2010)
Loss of Balance
without Fall
3%
Other
14%
Repetitive Motion
1%
In Lifting
38%
Bending, Twisting,
Etc.
14%
In Reaching
3%
In Holding or Carrying In Pushing or Pulling
n = 4,527 6% 16% In Using Tool or
Machine
5%

13. Overexertion injuries in lifting (2010)
What is being lifted?
700 90%
80%
600
70%
500
60%
400 50%
300 40%
30%
200
20%
100
10%
0 0%
Claim Count Cumulative %

14. Classification of claims based on nature of
injury (2009)
Internal
1%
Sprains & Strain
39%
Open Wound
Dislocation 24%
2% Fracture
7%
Contusion or
Superficial
Burns 23%
3%
Crush
1%
Number of categorized claims = 88,614

15. Distribution of claims by body region (2009)
Shoulder Arm
Torso 7% 5%
8%
Spine and Back Hand
12% 30%
Head and Neck
10%
Unspecified
8% Leg
Foot Knee 7%
5% 5%
Hip
3%
Number of categorized claims = 88,614

16. Experience of SHARP companies
Claims cost and cost per $1.0 million for the 16 companies
4.5 18
Cost per $1.0 Million Payroll ( $ Thousands)
4 $17,041 16
Total Cost of Claims ($ Millions)
3.5 14
3 12
2.5 10
2 $2,124,387 8
1.5 $6,328
6
1 4
$900,077
0.5 $2,461 2
0 $336,047 0
Before SHARP Working Toward SHARP After SHARP
Claim Costs Cost per $1.0 Million Payroll

17. Experience of SHARP companies
OSHA Form 33 average scores for 16 companies by subcomponent.
Hazard Anticipation and
Detection
3.000
2.500
Employee Participation 2.000 Hazard Prevention and Control
1.500
1.000
0.500
0.000
Management Leadership Planning and Evaluation
Safety and Health Training Administration and Supervision
Before SHARP