How many Workers Compensation Claims were filed nationwide in any year since 2000?

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Request for Question Clarification by darrel-ga on 10 Jun 2003 14:14 PDT

DBarber--

I've done some calling around and found that this information isn't
located anywhere online. The main problem is that workers'
compensation claims, as you know, are state issues. I have a call into
a national workers' compensation specialist who I'm told has done
research on this issue and will have your answer. I'll let you know
what that person says when I hear back.

darrel-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 21 Jun 2003 18:37 PDT

Hello dbarber-ga,

I thought that this information would exist *somewhere* in the depths
of some government or association report, but it really doesn't seem
to have ever been compiled.  In fact, the most comprehensive study I
could find notes that national data are simply not available on the
number of people receiving worker comp benefits, much less the total
number of claims actually filed.

There are some related national data, however.  In particular, there
is data on:

--Workplace related Injuries, Illness, and Fatalities (these are the
cases that, presumably, could lead to a workers comp claim)

--total number of workers covered by workers comp

--total amount of workers comp benefits paid out, nationally, and by
state

--total amount of covered wages 

If any of this would be of interest as an answer to your question, let
me know and I'll be happy to summarize it for you, and provide links
to the prime reference materials.

Hello dbarber-ga,

I haven’t been able to find the workman’s comp claims filed numbers
you’re looking for, but I think you might find this article
interesting. Good luck.

czh

http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/workerscomp/
Insurance Information Institute, Inc.
HOT TOPICS & INSURANCE ISSUES
Workers Compensation
MAY 2003

Fatality, Injury and Illness Trends: According to data from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS), excluding the 2,886 work-related deaths
stemming from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
workplace-related fatalities dropped less than 1 percent to 5,900 in
2001 from 5,915 in 2000. One quarter of on-the-job deaths are caused
by highway crashes, and they are on the rise. BLS data also show that
rates for private workplace injuries and illnesses dropped from 7.1
per 100 full-time workers in 1997 to 5.7 in 2001. Injury rates are now
at the lowest level since the agency began tracking information in the
1970s.

In 2001, a total of 5.2 million injuries and illnesses were reported
in private industry workplaces, of which about 2.6 million required
days off work or restricted duties. The incidence rate for lost
workday cases has declined steadily from 4.1 cases per 100 full-time
workers in 1990 to 2.8 cases in 2001, with days away from work at 1.7
cases per 100 employees, the lowest figure on record. Cases involving
restricted work activity rose from 0.7 in 1990 to 1.1 cases per 100
workers in 2001. Of the 333,800 newly reported cases of occupational
illnesses, 65 percent cases were disorders associated with repeated
trauma. The incidence of this type of illness which dropped 10 percent
from last year, is mostly in manufacturing industries.