247,120 Slips, Trips, And Falls Devastate 2014 Workers Comp Budgets

December 16, 2015 By JL Risk Management Consultants

247,120 Slips, Trips, And Falls – Increased by 8%

Slips, trips, and falls as a type of WC injury increased by 8% when compared to 2013 figures. According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), there were 247,120 slips trips and falls in 2014. This figure was much more stable from 2011 – 2013. For some reason, a spike occurred in 2014.

Breaking down the numbers further, when assuming a 2,000 hourly annual workload, this type of injury accounts for 123 injuries per hour (one every 30 seconds) in the US.

Year	Annual
2011	229,630
2012	223,700
2013	229,190
2014	247,120

One has to wonder the reason for such an intense spike in slip, trips, falls in just one year.

As expected, the Fatalities from this injury type also spiked in 2014. The fatalities increased by almost 10%.

Year	Annual
2011	681
2012	704
2013	724
2014	793(P)
P : Preliminary

This type of injury increase can devastate Workers Comp markets overall. NCCI did not provide a reason for the increase, however, their rating statistics showed that slips and trips accounted for 30% of all claim dollars. Strains also accounted for 30%.

The prevention of this type of injury is key to reducing Workers Comp costs. Zurich has a very interesting slip, trip, and fall assessment guide that safety personnel and Risk Managers may find helpful. The assessment guide even has a great checklist to prevent this type of injury.

The guide is only five pages long. Reading through it will be well worth your time.

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BLS Publishes Pilot Test Modified and Restricted Duty

October 2, 2014 By JL Risk Management Consultants

BLS Publishes Pilot Test – Full Of Good Info

The BLS publishes pilot test on Modified and restricted duty that is full of great charts and data.

Picture of BLS Publishes Pilot Test and Co-pilot in Private Jet Cockpit

StockUnlimited

The BLS (Bureau of Labor and Statistics) has more labor statistics than any site on the web. If you are a writer or presenter, the BLS is the go-to place for any type of out-of-work statistics. The list of documents available is enormous.In April 2014, the BLS published a study known as Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: A pilot study of job-transfer or work-restriction cases, 2012.

The summary page at the bottom the study shows one very interesting statistic.On page 35, the study has a chart which indicates that Food Manufacturers and Warehousing/Storage are the best in the study at returning injured workers to alternative jobs or modified duty. The ability to return an injured worker to modified duty or an alternative job could also result from the type of work involved with these specific employers.

The pilot study did not analyze all employers. The BLS may do a full analysis in the future. I will update this article when and if the BLS updates their study.

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Workplace Transportation Incidents Account For 40% Of Fatalities – BLS

September 11, 2014 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Workplace Transportation Incidents Account

Workplace transportation incidents = 40% of fatalities according to the BLS. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released various studies on Workplace Fatalities. An article was published earlier this year on The 25 Most Dangerous Jobs The numbers below are preliminary. The statistics are usually changed slightly as the numbers are verified by BLS.Some of the eye-opening statistics gleaned from the data are:

Vector Of Workplace Transportation Incidents Facilities

123RF

40% of workplace fatalities are transportation-related as defined by BLS.
Information service providers was the safest sector with a fatality rate of .8% of all fatalities
9% of fatalities were due to on-the-job homicide.
93% of all fatalities were male.
25% were in the age group of 45 – 54.
89% occurred in the private sector.

The workplace transportation incident -related fatalities required a little more research as the transportation-related incidents also included:

Roadway,
Non-roadway
Air,
Water,
Rail
Fatal occupational injuries resulting from being struck by a vehicle.

A partial breakdown of the transportation group which totaled 1,740 incidents was:

991 that were roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle
223 resulting from non–roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle
284 pedestrian incidents

The numbers will be updated once BLS finalizes their statistics.

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Insurance Industry Employment Numbers – Better Than Last Year

July 2, 2014 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Insurance Industry Employment Numbers Still Not Great Figures

In late 2012, Workers Compensation insurance industry employment was stable. The numbers for Workers Comp actually were mixed in with property and casualty. A few insurance industry employment areas have actually reduced greatly over time. Some of the reduction was due to the Bureau of Labor Statistics reclassifying certain lines of employment in the insurance industry.

The actual numbers of insurance employment has actually stayed the same for the last 15 years. The total number of insurance workers has totaled between 2.3 – 2.4 million during that time.

Third Party Administrator (TPA) employment has been a bright spot as the numbers have grown over the last twenty years steadily. Self insurance and other market drivers have caused this steady growth.

Two other bright post in the insurance employment numbers was the increase for brokers and the health carrier segment – up 2.7% and 4.8% respectively. One has to assume the Affordable Healthcare Act was partially responsible for the growth in the health carrier segment.

The one area of concern may possibly be the life insurance segment. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the segment has declined a large amount over the years and has declined once again.

Diagram of Life Insurance Industry Employment U.S

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Top 25 Dangerous Jobs – Highest Injury Rates 2011 and 2012

June 12, 2014 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Top 25 Dangerous Jobs Using BLS Statistics

The Top 25 Dangerous Jobs list contained a few surprises. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes many great employment statistics. When I was searching for the injury rates of the teacher from yesterday’s article, I came across the injury rate rankings of the most dangerous occupations.

Wikimedia Commons – bls.gov

These are not the fatality rates that are referred to when mentioning dangerous jobs. This list is the highest risk for injury when compared to the same number of work hours.

For the sake of readability and to fit all browsers, the rankings could not place them side-by-side for comparison. The Top 25 Dangerous Jobs rankings are by SIC Code. The SIC codes differentiate between State and Local government facilities.

The usual industries with high injury rates were really no surprise except Skiing Facilities. I had not really considered them to be a high-risk occupation. One has to remember that these are all analyzed by the business or organization’s SIC code, not the Workers Compensation Classification Codes.

The companies and organizations that were highly ranked in 2011 and 2012 may be the most dangerous overall. The types of employment that appeared on the 2011 and 2012 lists in the Top 10 are:

1. Fire protection

2. Nursing and residential care facilities (State Govt.)

3. Skiing facilities

4. Police protection

5. Travel trailer and camper manufacturing

6. Manufactured home (mobile home) manufacturing

7. Iron foundries

2012

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Nursing and residential care facilities (State Govt)
Manufactured home (mobile home) manufacturing
Police protection
Travel trailer and camper manufacturing
Iron foundries
Fire protection
Truck trailer manufacturing
Truss manufacturing
Heavy and civil engineering construction
Skiing facilities
Iron and steel forging
Veterinary services
Nursing and residential care facilities (Local Govt)
Hog and pig farming
Beet sugar manufacturing
Prefabricated wood building manufacturing
Hospitals
Ambulance services
Secondary smelting and alloying of aluminum
Materials recovery facilities
Correctional institutions
Animal (except poultry) slaughtering
Aluminum foundries (except die-casting)
Aluminum die-casting foundries
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing

2011

Fire protection
Nursing and residential care facilities
Steel foundries (except investment)
Ice manufacturing
Skiing facilities
Police protection
Travel trailer and camper manufacturing
Manufactured home (mobile home) manufacturing
Iron foundries
Copper foundries (except die-casting)
Pet and pet supplies stores
Seafood canning
Nursing and residential care facilities (Local Government)
Soft drink manufacturing
Ambulance services
Aluminum foundries (except die-casting)
Beet sugar manufacturing
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing
Truck trailer manufacturing
Metal tank (heavy gauge) manufacturing
Hospitals
Heavy and civil engineering construction
Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots
Plate work manufacturing
Consumer electronics and appliances rental

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Bureau of Labor Statistics Provides Huge Amount of Workers Comp Data

February 19, 2014 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Bureau of Labor Statistics – A Wellspring of Data

The Bureau of Labor Statistics can be found at bls.gov

Wikipedia

One of the great providers of Workers Compensation data is the Bureau of Labor Statistics . One has to know where to look to find the best WC data. Some of the data has to be extrapolated for it to make sense. Many Workers Comp statistics are not straightforward. Some of the statistics are basically indirect.

The Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities page has a plethora of data on WC. The calculator page has been upgraded often. The calculator page enables anyone that accesses the data to have cross-sections of data that is borderline amazing.

The One Screen data analysis on the calculator page allows almost any type of analysis. This is where I send people when asked where to find great analysis besides the rating bureaus (NCCI, WCIRB, etc).

The state specific data is one of the quickest ways to analyze WC injury information.

I have used the BLS website for many years. The data is accurate. If you check on even some of the rating bureau reports, you will see a footnote credit to the BLS.

Some of the latest numbers from the BLS are:

NONFATAL INJURIES AND ILLNESSES, PRIVATE INDUSTRY

Total recordable cases:
2,976,400 in 2012

Cases involving days away from work:
905,700 in 2012

Median days away from work:
8 in 2012

Cases involving sprains, strains, tears:
340,900 in 2012

Cases involving injuries to the back:
177,580 in 2012

Cases involving falls, slips, trips:
219,630 in 2012

Workers Comp Employment Numbers Show Stability

December 6, 2012 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Workers Comp Employment Numbers

Employment numbers for Workers Comp were surprisingly stable over the last few years. The Insurance Information institute article that I referenced from yesterday’s post on Workers Comp and The Fiscal Cliff indicated the recent employment numbers for property casualty (P/C) were not diminishing whatsoever.

Wikimedia Commons – bls.gov

The insurance employment numbers were analyzed by using the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) over the last twenty years.

The numbers had actually increased when compared to a year ago in some categories or at the worst remained the same. There was one group of employees that shrank faster than I would have expected, even in this seriously bad economy.

A summary of the employment figures for now vs. Sept 2011 for P/C and other lines of insurance showed stability:

P-C Insurers up by 1,600 (+0.3%)*
Reinsurers up by 1,500 (+5.7%)*
Claims Adjusters down by 100 (-0.2%)* – basically flat or no change
Insurance Agents & Brokers up by 8,100 (+1.3%)*
Life Insurers down by 7,800 (-2.3%)
Health/Medical Insurers up by 1,600 (+0.4%)

StockUnlimited

Life insurers took a hit compared to all the other lines of employment. The first four on the list were associated by me wholly or partly as P/C insurance employment*. Reinsurance did very well compared to the others on the list.

I stretched it a little to say that Workers Comp and the P/C employment numbers would be the same. I know of no study that accurately delineates Workers Comp employment from Property Casualty employment.

In one of the worst economic years for unemployment, P/C insurer employment seemed to hold its own. When I wrote the article yesterday, I was looking at these numbers. That is when I decided to share them as a way to make everyone feel a little safer in their current P/C related job.

I did write a few articles on the Death of Workers Compensation over the past months. That type of change would be due to the Federalization of Workers Comp or government action, not the insurance free-market system.

Please feel free to leave comments or email me if anything looks amiss. I want to be as accurate as possible with what I consider good news.