Workers Compensation Accident MVA Spike and Smartphone Use

August 9, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants

MVA Workers Compensation Accident Increase Possibly Linked To Smartphones

The Workers Compensation accident increase reports are a thing of the past.

All of us know that on-the-job accidents have decreased significantly over the last few years. The one constant in these reports is the lack of a root cause.

picture of auto workers compensation accident

Wikimedia License Nehoda Uhersky

Why has the workers compensation accident rate fallen by 17.6%? No one to date has fully explained the phenomenon. Technology was one of the recommended root-cause decreases. Carpal tunnel syndrome, for instance has been reduced by 50% (amazing).

Now we have the same type of comparison for the increase in Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVA’s). NCCI recently released a study of the MVA-related Class Codes. The intensive travel-related class codes (trucking, taxi, etc.) were of course, the ones that accounted for much of the MVA’s.

One shocking statistic in the report was that 40% of all Workers Compensation accident fatalities were due to MVA’s. That percentage is a serious and startling statistic. The full report by NCCI – recommended that you download the whole study from here.

Mark Walls – Safety National Insurance- recently remarked that MVA’s account for their most serious workers compensation accident claims. The same can be said for the NCCI study.

The year 2011 pegs the start of the increase in MVA’s. This starts the parallel use of smartphones. However, no report has ever directly concluded that smartphone use was or remains the root cause of the increase in MVA’s or the workers compensation accident rate.

I decided to dig a little deeper. This Bloomberg Article – Read past the Op-Ed headline shows that only 1.4% of MVA’s since 2011 resulted from smartphone use.

If you read further into the Bloomberg article, the reason for such a low number comes from the fact that not all cell phone use accidents are reported to the NHTSA properly i.e., the Tennessee conundrum in the same article.

We all either have been or have seen the hypnotized driver in the left lane swerving like a DUI candidate in the left lane of a four lane highway. Last week, I drove 15 hours in two days to make (ironically) an NCCI State Advisory Meeting and to make other meetings.

Street Sign of workers compensation accident Cellphone Prohibited

Public Domain Use – WhisperToMe

I decided to count the number of smartphone-hypnotized people in the 22 hours stretch of driving. I identified 16 left lane drivers that were on their phone by texting or talking in 22 hours. This route was on rather remote interstate highways.

I did not count the right lane smartphone users as at least they were out of the way and driving slower to offset their unsafe driving habit.

I only counted during daylight hours to not count DUI or drivers that do not do well at night. That reduced the counted hours on the interstates to 17. So 16/17 or 1 driver blocked the left lane due to smartphone use every 55 minutes.

Georgia recently enacted a law joining 16 other states on limiting cellphone or smartphone use. However, the use of bluetooth devices is still OK. Accident statistics show that bluetooth does not reduce accidents as the main culprit is inattentive driving.

The bottom is smartphone use and cause of traffic accidents has not been established – it is not because the fact that such a statistic exists – it is that the stat is not and has not been measured well. Why? – Who wants to tell the officer that they were on their phone either by texting or talking?

Someday, we may be able to identify smartphone use as the root cause of a workers compensation accident.

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

Accident Curve And Natural Disasters – Spike in Workers Comp Claims

August 31, 2017 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Accident Curve And Natural Disasters

The accident curve measures the accident rate lessening per unit of work time. The concept has been debated over time. A search far and wide located a 1916 text that actually addressed this issue very well. Please see the last two sets of bullet points below. The picture is of Hurricane Isabel.

Hurricane Isabel Accident Curve from space

Wikimedia Commons License

The learning curve measures how long it takes for a person to learn a new task. The accident curve measures how many accidents happen in the first few hours someone works with a new machine or performs a new task.

I performed an informal study on the accident rates of claims that I was handling post-Hurricane Hugo. After two months, the claim numbers spiked and then returned to normal. Most of the injured workers were new to the construction industry. They were involved with the hurricane recovery efforts for many months.

We have all heard the expression “90% of the accidents occur the first time someone uses a tool/machine” or the first time a person performs a completely new task. Hendersons law is:

C_{n}=C_{1}n^{{-a}} Accident Curve

where:

C₁ is the cost of the first unit of production
C_n is the cost of the n-th unit of production
n is the cumulative volume of production
a is the elasticity of cost with regard to output

A few classes I attended to complete my actuarial degree covered the learning curve heavily. The application centered around production. Safety did not seem to be an issue. However, the learning curve is a the crux of a safe workplace. Hands-on training reduces workers comp accidents or their severity by exposing the workers to a learning curve with a person or persons that have long since handled the type of new task.

The actual formula uses logarithms to estimated the time it will take someone to complete the task. A very astute scientist derived an accident curve from the formula. However, they derived the accident curve from actual hands-on measurement in manufacturing plants. You will need to refer to the bottom page 127 of this old but still relevant text. The text is included below justifying the accident curve consideration. The studies were conducted on very heavy labor iron and steel plants.

ACCIDENTS AND INEXPERIENCE THE HIGH RISK OF BEGINNERS

StockUnlimited

It is generally recognized that inexperience is one of the most important elements in the causation of industrial accidents. What has not been sufficiently realized is the close parallelism of the rates of accidents and of inexperience. The industrial risks of beginners have been shown to be high Interesting testimony on this subject is given in the iron and steel report already quoted.

A table giving the incidence of accidents to press hands beginning work on the machine shows that on the first day of employment:

More than 5 times as many were injured as during all the rest of the first week
26 times as many as from the second week to the end of the first month
100 times as many as from the second through the sixth month

One can presume the figures indicate a six-month employee is 100 times less likely to have an accident as the first day employee.

Another table covering longer periods of employment shows the accident frequency rates per 1,000 workers at a steel plant falling from the exceedingly high rate of

111.3 per 1,000 in the first six months through
increasing lengths of service to 19.7 for from 5 to 10 years and to
zero after 15 years.

The book did not mention the level of training in these cases. One would have to guess that it was strictly on-the-job-training. I was going to construct a few graphs but the numbers speak for themselves.

I would love to dig into this further, but I have to get this article proofread, published and then publish a weekly newsletter.

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

Workers Comp Accident Rates Affected By Spring Forward

March 29, 2016 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Workers Comp Accident Rates Do Spring Forward

Do Workers Comp Accident Rates twice per year? According to a recent article I came across- not necessarily.

Picture of Files fallen in Locker Room Workers Comp Accident Rates Twice Per Year

123RF

The one hour time change in the fall has no effect on accident rates. The springtime “ides of March” time change does lead to a higher rate of accidents.

Two doctoral candidates found that a spike in injuries does occur every March.

In two separate studies, they found that the March switch to Daylight Savings Time resulted in

40 minutes less sleep for American workers
5.7 percent increase in workplace injuries
nearly 68 percent more work days lost to injuries.

In Canada, the accidents rate increases do agree with these two studies. There was an 8% increase in accidents the Monday following the time change.

Car Accident Workers Comp Accident Rates Sheriff Reporting Car Crash

StockUnlimited

Traffic accidents do rise sharply on the Monday after the March Daylight Savings time change. In fact, a long term study showed a 17% increase in traffic accidents on that Monday.

Finding any rating bureau information that is specific to a certain date each year was difficult at best.

A 2009 Journal of Applied Psychology study concluded that miners had a 40 minute sleep deprivation which resulted in a 5.7 increase in accident rates for the Monday after the March time change. The Workers Comp accident rate for this one industry may not be reflective of all industries.

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

Accident Curve – Upcoming Workers Comp Risk Factor

October 9, 2013 By JL Risk Management Consultants

The Accident Curve Comes From The Learning Curve

There has been a large amount of recent traffic and buzz on the articles in the blog that covered the Learning Curve or the Accident Curve. There was an old adage in Risk Management that said “90% of all accidents happen the first time a person uses a tool, machine, etc.”

Slippery When Wet Accident Curve Car Sign

If and when the economy recovers there will be an increase in accidents overall. I once performed my own research while working with a WC carrier many years ago during the awful Hurricane Hugo. One surprising statistic was the rate of rebuilding construction accidents in the Charleston, SC area.

I had decided to research if such an accident curve exists or at least a similar type statistic. The Solomon Curve did not directly relate to Workers Compensation. The curve does represent a good accident curve even though it involves speed vs. accident rate.

Human error accounts for 90% of all traffic accidents according to this article. One has to wonder exactly what was the other 10%?

The venerable NCCI does have a great chart they include in most of their presentations. The chart is on page 42 titled Countrywide Workers Compensation Loss Time Claim Frequency….. Looking at the 2010 figure, one can see a very sharp increase in the 2010 claim frequency.

Picture Senior Woman Using Whiteboard in Business Meeting Accident Curve Risk Factor

StockUnlimited

Looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for Unemployment, the unemployment rate did drop from 10.0% to 9.3% over that year which may account for the matching time period on the NCCI chart. A .7% drop in unemployment could have contributed to the rise in accident rates.

I will publish a new article when I can find more relevant statistics – if they do exist.

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

Economic Recovery Happens And Learning Curve Kills (Literally)

August 7, 2013 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Economic Recovery Begets The Learning Curve Dark Side

The economic recovery may happen soon – or then again possibly not for a long time. One of the most ignored equations or proved theories is the Learning Curve. In my actuarial degree, this was one of the glossed over management equations that should have been held up to the light, in my humble opinion.

Digraph of Economic Recovery Learning Curve

Wikimedia Commons – Alanf777

I posted on the learning curve at length in the past. You may want to use the search box in the right margin to search for my posts on the learning curve. I thought it would be a well-placed reminder.

One of the banes of Risk Mangers and Safety Officers is when employees use a machine or performs a process for the first time. The likelihood of injury spikes off the charts for that first time. These injures (some fatal) often occur in the same manner as riding a bicycle. I still have skinned knee scars from the first time I rode a motorcycle.

Picture Of Weather forecast Economic Recovery Hurricane Hugo

Wikipedia Commons – NOAA / Satellite and Information Service

The safety and risk related learning curve is not very easy to find. Every resource on it refers to how fast an assembly line will speed up over time with a set of new workers. The Boston Consulting Group came up with the learning curve in an academic form. Ford Motor Company had applied the learning curve to Model T production.

I used to call it the Hurricane Hugo phenomenon. Many workers (some very inexperienced) came into the Charleston and Low Country part of South Carolina in 1989. Construction companies hired employees by the busload. The need for very rapid reconstruction of many island homes was at critical mass.

The first reports of injury from construction related businesses in Charleston spiked for approximately three months. Most of the first reports indicated the injuries occurred with new construction employees at an alarming rate. Chainsaw and lumber saw injuries – most very severe- were very common. Check out degloving hand injuries to see one of the more common saw injuries.

I usually do not use Wikipedia as a source. The learning curve that resembles the reduction of injuries per person-hours is best shown here. These curves are actually unit cost per level of production, but with a little imagination, one can see the same effect.

What can a safety or risk manager do to combat an almost uncontrolled phenomenon? One method may be to remember that even a very experienced employee may still have the learning curve effect if they have been out of work for quite a long time.

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

Workers Comp Claims Spike – Easy Way To Handle?

November 1, 2012 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Workers Comp Claims Spike May Show Need For More Training

Does a Workers Comp Claims spike have an easy solution? In my last post, the learning curve was what I thought would be the reason for an upcoming workers comp claims spike or explosion in claims. Rookies tend to make mistakes, whether in sports or at work. I would also count workers that have not performed a job or job function as part of this group, even though they are not rookies.

Graphic Of Hand Push Botton Workers Comp Claims spike Easy Text Icon

StockUnlimited

New York, New Jersey and employers in many other states, especially construction and demolition, will likely see a spike in claims. The easiest way to handle this inflow of claims from an employer’s point of view is to have a few very simple strategies in place.

I am going to reiterate some of my Keys To Cutting Workers Comp Costs as these are easy to use in case of an accident:

ASAP First Reports – this is very important during a claims spike as adjusters may be overloaded. Get your reports in first.

Fax, email, or report the injury online ASAP.
If an employee is out of work, follow-up within two business days to see if your injury report has made it to the adjuster.
Note any questions or concerns by attaching a note to the first report of injury.

Picture Of Physician And Patient Workers Comp Claims spike Consulting

StockUnlimited

Dr. Network – the most critical key

This is the most critical part of any WC claim without question.
WC courts consider physicians the only impartial parties/witnesses in a claim.
A physician panel needs to be in place .
Treating physician controls medical cost, length of time out of work, and any permanent disability

Return to Work Program – employers sometimes forget this area when overloaded with work and claims.

The medical providers that are seeing the WC employees should know if you have a RTW program in place
Employees should know a return to work (RTW) program is in place.

Employee Treatment – your workers are still your employees even after an injury

Reduces fraud
Helps Return To Work program
An out of work employee is still your employee
Keeps employee in the loop

These four keys may seem very basic. However, we find that most employers with high E-Mod/X-Mods/LDF’s are not following one of more of these keys. Now is a good time to put them in place before the claims come rolling in quickly for your company.

Will There Be Spike In Workers Comp Claims Due to Sandy?

November 1, 2012 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Spike In Workers Comp Claims Post Natural Disaster

Hurricane Sandy could cause a spike in Workers Comp claims? New York, New Jersey, and many other states have felt the impact of Superstorm Sandy. The hidden increase in economic costs will occur when the rebuilding begins. I had coined the term “Hurricane Syndrome” after I saw a spike in the South Carolina Workers Comp claims I was handling after Hurricane Hugo.

Graphic of Spike In Workers Comp Claims Hurricane Sandy

I posted on the Learning Curve as being a bellwether for Workers Comp claim spikes when a worker uses a tool or performs some job duty for the first time. This can also be applied to the reconstruction of the northeastern states after Hurricane Sandy.

The Learning Curve will apply to reconstruction after a large storm as many labor-type workers will be doing jobs they may have never performed or have not done for a long time due to the economy.

There should be some type of claims spike over the next six months in at least New York and New Jersey at a minimum. Accidents that would not occur in a normal situation may actually happen when a massive labor force increase occurs in a specific area.

Fallen Tree Spike In Workers Comp Claims Typhoon Damage

Wikipedia – Joe D

As noted often in this blog, numerous accidents over a given period is much more damaging to the E-Mod (X-Mod in CA) than one or two major accidents. The Loss Development Factor (LDF) may also spike for self-insureds. The rating bureaus have all taken into account that numerous smaller accidents cost more over the long term than one large accident. The statistics of risk usually prove the rating bureaus’ assertions correct.

The Learning Curve has been around since the 1930’s. There has not been one study that contradicted the premise of less experience = more accidents. If one looks at almost any college-level book that covers business analysis, the Learning Curve will be in it.

My next post will cover how carriers/TPA’s/and employers can gear up for the increase in WC claims.

Workers Comp Claims Explosion If Economy Rebounds Quickly

October 16, 2012 By JL Risk Management Consultants

The Workers Comp Claims Explosion Due To Learning Curve

Will a workers comp claims explosion occur in the next few years? The economy is going to eventually recover from its recent lows. If there is a very quick rebound, insurance carriers, TPA’s, employers, and any type of insurance personnel must be prepared for an explosive increase in the number of claims.I often do phone consulting for investment groups examining Workers Comp vendors from TPA’s to translation services. One of the questions I am often asked is there anything out there that would turn the claims industry upside down.

Picture of Worker Man Sitting on Big Bomb Workers Comp Claims Explosion Concept

123RF

The Learning Curve will be the bane of many Workers Comp insurance personnel and any employer that is large enough to have an Experience Rating (E-Mod or X-Mod). We have all heard of the studies that almost 90% of accidents occur the first time a person is using a new tool or machine. This number can be proven very easily using the learning curve.

I coined a term a number of years ago when I was working a claims desk. The number of accidents right after a hurricane spiked heavily in the construction industries. The investigation of almost all the claims showed a discernible trend. Due to such a heavy increase in demand for construction workers, there were many new unskilled workers on the job. I saw many power tool incidents. I called it the “Hurricane Syndrome.”The true formula for the learning curve is here. If you look at the graph on the page, you can see that it takes someone much longer to do a task than when the workers gains experience. OSHA does a great job of forecasting injury rates over 200,000 work hours. However, I do not see a study from OSHA on time the worker spent on the job before the accident.

Picture of Hand Doing Puzzle Workers Comp Claims Explosion Learning Curve

123RF

The learning curve does not always apply to workers trying out a tool or machine for the first time. Workers that experience long standing layoffs will be much more likely to have accidents as they may not have used certain machines or tools for months or possibly years.

My advice for insurers/TPA’s is to heavily staff their claim departments when signs of the recovery become obvious. The learning curve has been tested since the 1800’s and was studied heavily by NASA starting in the 1930’s. The spike in injuries is not a theory. It is a proven fact.

Employers will need to be ever vigilant in reporting their claims and following up with their WC adjusting staff. Providing your insurance carrier of TPA with the First Reports of Injury in a timely manner will be very critical.

If anyone can locate the study on the exact % of injuries when someone uses a machine or tool for the first time, please email me the link and I will insert in this post. Thanks.