The Role of Worker Age in Ohio Workers' Compensation Claims in the Landscaping Services Industry.

Abstract

This study employed analysis of workers' compensation (WC) claims in the landscaping services industry to identify occupational factors associated with claims from workers of different ages. Private sector claims for 2005 to 2017 to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (OHBWC) and their free-text descriptions were used along with data from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey to examine rates and types of WC claims by worker age. Although the claim rate for younger workers was higher than that for older workers overall (593 vs 261 per 10,000 full-time equivalent employees, P < 0.001), claims from older workers had higher nonzero median cost ($1002 vs $522, P < 0.001). Analysis of WC claim rates shows significant differences between claims in different age groups. These differences can be used to target safety interventions for the greatest impact.