Workers' compensation claims not reported in the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Injury and claim characteristics

Abstract

Background: Underreporting in the nation's primary source of non-fatal occupational injury and illness data are well documented, but worker-level characteristics of unreported cases have not been fully explored.

Methods: Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) data were linked to Washington workers' compensation claims to identify injury and claim characteristics associated with unreported cases. Workers' compensation administrative date data were used to characterize timing of disability and SOII case eligibility.

Results: Based on claim date data, one in five lost time claims with an injury date in the survey year were likely ineligible for SOII case reporting during the survey year. Among SOII-eligible claims, those involving sprains or strains, employer protests, and those not eligible for work disability payments until months after the initial injury were least likely to be reported in SOII.

Conclusions: SOII case capture is limited both by its cross sectional survey design and employer underreporting. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:264-275, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; surveillance; under-reporting; work-related injuries; workers’ compensation data.