WORKERS’ COMPENSATION 2.

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BASIC G
OCCUPATIONAL
SAFETY AND HEALTH 1
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MODULE 2

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Overview
The concept of workers’ compensation developed as a way to allow
injured employees to be compensated appropriately without having to take
their employer to court. The underlying rationale for workers’ compensation
had two aspects:

1) Fairness to injured employees, especially those without the resources

to undertake legal actions that are often long, drawn out, and
expensive and
2) Reduction of costs to employers associated with workplace injuries
(ex: legal, image, and morale costs)

Objectives of Workers’ Compensation:

1) Replacement of income
2) Rehabilitation of the injured employee
3) Prevention of accidents
4) Cost allocation

INJURIES AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

The original concept envisioned compensation for workers who were
injured in on-the-job accidents
A harmful environment does not have to be limited to its physical
components.
Psychological factors (such as stress) can also be considered. In fact,
the highest rate of growth in workers’ compensation claims over the past two
decades has been in the area of stress-related injuries.
AOE and COE Injuries

AOE – injury arises out of employment

COE – injury occurs in the course of employment

DISABILITIES AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Injuries that are compensable typically fall into one of four categories:
1) Temporary partial disability – means an injured worker is capable of light
or part-time duties.
2) Temporary total disability – means the injured worker is incapable of any
work for a period of time but is expected to recover fully
3) Permanent partial disability – is the condition that exists when an injured
employee is not expected to recover fully. In such cases, the employee
will be able to work again but not at full capacity. Often employees who
are partially disabled must be retained for another occupation

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4) Permanent total disability – exists when an injured employee’s disability
is such that the employee cannot compete in the job market. This does
not necessarily mean that the employee is helpless. Rather, it means an
inability to compete reasonably.

COST REDUCTION STRATEGIES

General Strategies
Regardless of the type of organization, there are several rules of thumb
that can help reduce workers’ compensation claims. These are:

1) Stay in touch with the injured employee

2) Have a return-to-work program and use it

Colledge and Johnson recommend using SPICE model for improving

the effectiveness of return-to-work programs. It consists of the following
components:
Simplicity - means that the medical professionals who treat injured
employees should work closely with safety professionals to prevent system-
induced complications.
Proximity – means keeping an injured employee close to the job as
possible
Immediacy – means that the faster an employee’s injury claims can be
handled, the less likely he or she will be to develop psychosocial issues that
can complicate the recovery process
Centrality – means getting an employee, his or her family, the medical
professionals handling the case, insurance personnel, and the employer to
agree on a common vision for successfully returning the injured party to work
as soon as possible.
Expectancy – means creating the expectation that getting the
employee well and back to work is the goal of all parties involved. It is
achieved by communicating this message clearly to all parties and reinforcing
it by establishing short-term goals timelines for actually being back on the job

3) Determine the cause of the accident