Use of Workers' Compensation Data for Occupational Safety and Health

The Use of Workers' Compensation Data for Occupational Safety and Health Workshop was convened in June 2012 at the Frances Perkins Department of Labor Building in Washington DC. This was the second workshop that provided an opportunity for workers' compensation insurance industry organizations, public health practitioners and researchers, and government administrative agencies to discuss uses of workers' compensation data for public health issues. The burden of occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities is substantial. In the U.S. alone, costs are estimated at $250 billion annually. Tracking these costs and underlying hazards is essential for control of the economic and social burdens. Workers' compensation insurance covers but a fraction of these costs, although nearly all employers are required by the individual state mandates to have policies. Seemingly, claims records would be available for each incident yet investigators report at this workshop and elsewhere that the records are incomplete. Collaboration across the vested interests is needed to make workers' compensation data more suitable for research and surveillance purposes. In combination with other occupational safety and health resources, further utilization of workers' compensation data can help alleviate the burden of occupational injuries and illnesses in the U.S. and elsewhere.