Citation

Leung N, Yuspeh L, Kalia N, Lavin R, Tsourmas N, Bernacki E, Tao XG. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2019; 61(5): e200-e205.

Affiliation

Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas (Drs Bernacki, Leung, Tsourmas); Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation, Instructor in Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine - Department of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (Mr Yuspeh); Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (Drs Kalia, Tao); Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Lavin).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/JOM.0000000000001568

PMID

31268939

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A significant decrease in back injury claims was observed in a single employer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to validate whether back injury claims are decreasing in a multiemployer environment within a non-monopolistic state and quantify the risk of delayed return-to-work and adverse cost of injured workers with back injuries.

METHODS: Thirty-six thousand four hundred sixty-three claims from 1998 to 2015 were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic and Cox-Proportional Hazards models.

RESULTS: Back injury claims decreased three-fold (5.02 to 1.60 per 1000 employees) and were more likely to have claim costs over $100,000 (odds ratio = 2.41) and delayed return-to-work (hazard ratio = 1.16).

CONCLUSION: Back injury claims are decreasing in a multiemployer environment within a non-monopolistic state.

Language: en