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Reporting workers' compensation injuries in California: how many are missed?

Boden LI; Ozonoff A

Sacramento, CA: State of California, Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Department of Industrial Relations, 2008 Aug; :1-41

http://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/Reports/ReportingWorkersCompensationInjuriesinCalifornia2008August.pdf

20038495

In recent years, California newspapers have reported about employers who have systematically underreported workplace injuries. In 2004, the Los Angeles Times reported that Southern California Edison Co. had received safety bonuses of $35 million from the State of California based on Edison's reporting of worker injuries that was later found to be incomplete (Douglass 2004). In 2005 and 2006, the Oakland Tribune published a series of articles questioning injury reporting by KFM, the consortium hired to rebuild the San Francisco Bay Bridge (Tucker 2005). These newspaper articles and research studies of workplace injury and illness reporting have raised concerns that underreporting may be much more widespread. For this reason, the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) asked Boston University School of Public health to analyze existing injury reporting data to determine whether underreporting is a substantial issue in the California workers' compensation system. In this study, we also compare estimates of underreporting in California with estimates for Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Analytical-processes; Quantitative-analysis; Statistical-analysis; Workplace-monitoring; Workplace-studies; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Epidemiology

20080801

Other

Grant

2008

Grant-Number-R01-OH-007596

Reporting workers' compensation injuries in California: how many are missed?

MA; CA; MN; NM; OR; WA; WV; WI

Boston University, Medical Campus