Injury Claims Research Articles

Intensity of physical therapy services: Association with work and health outcomes in injured workers with back pain in Washington State.

Associations between the intensity of physical therapy (PT) treatments and health outcomes among individuals with back pain have been examined in the general population; however, few studies have explored these associations in injured workers. Our study objective was to examine whether intensity of PT treatments is positively associated with work and health outcomes in injured workers with back pain. We conducted a secondary analysis of prospective data collected from the Washington State Workers' Compensation (WC) Disability Risk Identification Study Cohort (D-RISC). D-RISC combined survey results with WC data from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Workers with a State Fund WC claim for back injuries between June 2002 and April 2004 and who received PT services within the first year of injury were eligible. Intensity of PT treatment was measured as the type and amount of PT services within 28 days from the first PT visit. Outcome measures included work disability and self-reported measures for working for pay, pain intensity, and functional status at 1-year follow-up. We conducted linear and logistic regression models to test associations. We identified 662 eligible workers. In adjusted models, although the intensity of PT treatment was not significantly associated with work disability at 1-year follow-up, it was associated with lower odds of working for pay, decreased pain intensity, and improved functional status. Our findings suggest that there may be small benefits from receiving active PT, manual therapy, and frequent PT treatments within 28 days of initiating PT care.

CORR Insights®: Involvement in a Personal Injury Claim Is Associated With More Pain and Delayed Return to Work After Elective Nonsurgical or Surgical Treatment for Hand or Wrist Disorders: A Propensity Score-matched Comparative Study.

1Professor of Clinical Hand Surgery, Southern Illinois Hand Center, Southern Illinois University, Effingham, IL, USA N. H. Naam, 901 Medical Park Drive, Effingham, IL 62401, USA, Email: [email protected] This CORR Insights® is a commentary on the article “Involvement in a Personal Injury Claim is Associated with More Pain and Delayed Return to Work After Elective Nonsurgical or Surgical Treatment for Hand or Wrist Disorders: A Propensity Score–matched Comparative Study” by Hoogendam and colleagues available at: DOI: 10.1097/CORR.0000000000002410. The author certifies that there are no funding or commercial associations (consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article related to the author or any immediate family members. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request. The opinions expressed are those of the writer, and do not reflect the opinion or policy of CORR® or The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons®.

Legal epidemiology of paediatric dog bite injuries

BackgroundDog bite injuries cause over 100 000 paediatric emergency department visits annually. Our objective was to analyse associations between regional dog ownership laws and incidence of paediatric dog bites.MethodsThis observational...

Does state repeal of alcohol exclusion laws increase problem drinking?

For decades, alcohol exclusion laws (AELs) have allowed insurance companies to reject claims for physical injuries caused by alcohol consumption, including injuries from impaired driving. A central premise of AELs is that they function as a deterrent to risk-taking behaviors, such as excessive drinking. If this assumption is correct, state repeal of these laws should result in increased drinking. This study examines whether the repeal of AELs by some states affects drinking behaviors. Data were obtained from the 1993 to 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System nationwide survey. Exploiting the natural experiment presented by state repeal of AELs, we assessed the impact on current drinking and binge drinking. We used a rigorous quasi-experimental difference-in-differences analysis and conducted a battery of sensitivity analyses to assure robust findings. Overall, the study found no discernable impact of state repeal of AELs on alcohol consumption. While the repeal of AELs significantly decreased the odds of reporting drinking in the past 30 days compared to those living in states with AELs or that never had AELs, the effects were small (aOR=0.98, 95% CI=0.96, 0.99). Likewise, there were higher odds of binge drinking among individuals living in states that repealed AELs compared to those living in states without AELs, yet with small effects (aOR=1.03, 95% CI=1.01, 1.05). After additionally adjusting for state-varying characteristics and state-specific time trends, no significant effects were identified regarding current and binge drinking. Findings from the sensitivity analyses were largely consistent with the main analysis. This study found no evidence supporting the idea that repealing AELs increased alcohol consumption or binge drinking. Future studies should consider other state-specific dimensions within the Uniform Accident and Sickness Policy Provision Law.

Patient injuries from tonsil and adenoid surgery in Finland.

The aims of this national register-based study were to examine patient injury claims related to tonsil and adenoid surgery injuries and to compare the frequency of claims between tonsillectomies and tonsillotomies in Finland. We analyzed the complaints related to tonsil and adenoid surgery received by the Finnish Patient Insurance Center (PIC) between the years 2000 and 2019. One hundred seventy-two cases were included in the analysis. The annual surgery rates between the years 2000 and 2018 were acquired from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. During the years 2000 to 2018, a total of 292,679 patients had tonsil and/or adenoid surgery nationwide. For tonsil or adenoid surgeries, the national average was 5.3 cases and 1.8 cases per 10,000, respectively, resulting in patient injury claims and compensations. A total of 33.1% of the claims regarding tonsil or adenoid surgery processed by the PIC were compensated. Most of the claims were made after a tonsillectomy (87.8%), and few were made after a tonsillotomy (1.7%). Seven deaths were recorded. Patient injuries from tonsil and adenoid surgeries were mostly related to traditional extracapsular tonsillectomies. Most surgeries, along with most complications, involved specialists, who performed routine operations in high-volume centers. Surgeries for acute or recurrent infections resulted in more claims. Severe complications arising from tonsil and adenoid surgeries were rare. 4.

The multivariate Poisson‐Generalized Inverse Gaussian claim count regression model with varying dispersion and shape parameters

AbstractWe introduce a multivariate Poisson‐Generalized Inverse Gaussian regression model with varying dispersion and shape for modeling different types of claims and their associated counts in nonlife insurance. The multivariate Poisson‐Generalized Inverse Gaussian regression model is a general class of models which, under the approach adopted herein, allows us to account for overdispersion and positive correlation between the claim count responses in a flexible manner. For expository purposes, we consider the bivariate Poisson‐Generalized Inverse Gaussian with regression structures on the mean, dispersion, and shape parameters. The model's implementation is demonstrated by using bodily injury and property damage claim count data from a European motor insurer. The parameters of the model are estimated via the Expectation‐Maximization algorithm which is computationally tractable and is shown to have a satisfactory performance.

Medical Negligence Dispute in Malaysia: Choosing Mediation as the Best Constructive Approach to Address the Paradoxes in Medical Negligence Claims

Abstract In professional negligence the most challenging and arduous is medical negligence, which consists of various claims. Medical negligence will usually involve doctors and other medical practitioners. In medical negligence the claimant is allowed to bring a personal injury claim to a court which has the jurisdiction under adversarial system. However it is evident from reported cases that medical negligence claims were mostly unsuccessful. The reason lies on the notion of the burden of proof, which cast a heavy burden on the plaintiff according to the fault system. In medical negligence claims, plaintiffs will more often than not, find it very difficult to discharge their burden of proof. In most countries, professional negligence claims are recommended to be dealt with by way of mediation under Alternative Dispute resolution (ADR). Mediation is believed to be easier than litigation and is less complicated. Malaysia is among those countries which has enhanced significantly the utility of ADR. This paper will endeavour to address the problems in proving medical negligence cases by using one of the strongest tools of ADR which is mediation.

The Influence of Stigma Perceptions on Employees' Claims Experiences for Psychological Injuries: Re-Examination of a Cross-Sectional Survey among Australian Police and Emergency Service Personnel.

While a large body of research assessed the contribution of mental health stigma on disclosure, treatment seeking, and recovery, limited research exists seeking to identify the relative contribution of stigma beliefs on workers’ compensation claims for psychological injury. Survey data of ambulance, fire and rescue, police, and state emergency service personnel (N = 1855, aged 45–54 years, 66.4% male) was re-examined to assesses the unique and combined associations of self-, personal, and workplace stigma with workers’ compensation claims experiences and recovery. Participants responded to self-report stigma items (predictor variables), perceived stress, fairness, and support perceptions of going through the claims process and its impact on recovery (outcome variables). Multiple regression analyses revealed that the combined stigma dimensions predicted about one fifth of the variance of claims and recovery perceptions. Organisational commitment beliefs and the self-stigma dimension of experiences with others were the two most important, albeit weak, unique predictors across outcomes. Given the small but consistent influences of organisational commitment beliefs and the self-stigma dimension of experiences with others, it seems warranted to apply workplace interventions that are looking to establish positive workplace contact and a supportive organisational culture to alleviate negative effects attributable to mental health stigma.

Work-related injuries in the Australian education sector: A retrospective cohort study

IntroductionEducators are exposed to several work-related hazards. Evidence suggests musculoskeletal pain, psychological distress, and student-inflicted violence-related injuries are common. However, there is little evidence on the burden of workplace injury among Australian educators. AimTo compare incidence of injury claims and duration of compensated time off work between educators and non-educators, and associated factors. MethodsRetrospective cohort study of 1,559,676 Australian workers’ compensation claims, including 84,915 educator claims, lodged between July 2009 to June 2015, from the National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics. Cases were included if aged 18+ years and working in the education sector less than 100 h per week. Negative binomial regression models estimated the relative risk of making a compensation claim and survival analyses calculated disability duration within educators by sex, age, injury type and mechanism, socioeconomic area, remoteness, and jurisdiction. ResultsCompared to non-educators, educators had lower rates of injury claims and shorter disability durations. However, educators had a higher rate of claims for mental health conditions and assault, with the highest risk being among those in special education and education aides. Among educators, injury claim rates were highest among special educators, education aides, and secondary educators. Discussion and ConclusionThough surveys indicate Australians in the education sector have higher incidences of work-related injuries, this study found lower incidence of injury claims and shorter disability durations than others. Educators’ injury-reporting and absenteeism behaviors may be constrained by ethical, social, and administrative attitudes. Educators had higher rates of claims for mental health and assault-related injury, particularly special educators, and education aides, which suggests a need for targeted prevention efforts.

Involvement in a Personal Injury Claim Is Associated With More Pain and Delayed Return to Work After Elective Nonsurgical or Surgical Treatment for Hand or Wrist Disorders: A Propensity Score-matched Comparative Study.

Involvement in a Personal Injury Claim Is Associated With More Pain and Delayed Return to Work After Elective Nonsurgical or Surgical Treatment for Hand or Wrist Disorders: A Propensity Score-matched Comparative Study.

Pre-injury health status of truck drivers with a workers’ compensation claim

Truck drivers are a vulnerable population due to the high number of workplace injuries and fatalities predominant in their occupation. In Australia, the road freight transportation industry has been identified as a national priority area in terms of creating preventative measures to improve the health and safety of its workers. With an environment conducive to poor nutritional food choices and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, many barriers exist to creating a safe and healthy workforce. Thus, the current study aimed to describe the pre-injury hospital-recorded health conditions and health service use of truck drivers with a worker’s injury compensation claim/s when compared to workers in other industries. Data was obtained from a compensation claims database and linked with hospital admissions data recorded five years prior to the injury claim. Health and lifestyle behaviour data for the occupational code of truck drivers was compared to other occupational drivers, as well as to all other occupations. Analysis was conducted via logistic regression. The results found that when compared to other occupational drivers, truck drivers were significantly more likely to have a hospital-recorded diagnosis of diabetes and/or hypertension, as well as being significantly more likely to have a hospital record of tobacco use and/or alcohol misuse/abuse. The findings show that there is a need to review and revise existing health strategies to promote the health and wellbeing of truck drivers, especially given their challenging work environment.

The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009-2018.

Background and AimsAs average temperatures rise and wildfire events increase in the United States, outdoor workers may be at an increased risk of injury. Recent research suggests that heat exposure increases outdoor workers' risk of traumatic injuries, but co‐exposures of heat and wildfire smoke have not been evaluated.MethodsOregon workers' compensation data from 2009 to 2018 were linked to satellite data by the date of injury to determine if acute heat (maximum Heat Index) and wildfire smoke (presence/absence) were associated with a traumatic injury. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes were utilized to identify accepted, disabling injury claims from construction (NAICS 23) and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (NAICS 11). Claims from April to October were analyzed using negative binomial models to calculate incident rate ratios (IRR) by heat and wildfire exposure for All workers and specifically for Agricultural (Ag)/Construction workers.ResultsDuring the study period, 91,895 accepted, traumatic injury claims were analyzed. All workers had an injury IRR of 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.06) while Ag/Construction workers had an IRR of 1.11 (95% CI: 1.06–1.16) when wildfire smoke was present. When the maximum Heat Index was 75°F or greater, the IRR significantly increased as temperatures increased. When the maximum Heat Index was above 80–84°F, All workers had an IRR of 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01–1.06) while Ag/construction workers had an IRR of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.08–1.21) with risk increasing with increased temperatures. In joint models, heat remained associated with injury rates, but not wildfire smoke. No multiplicative interactions between exposures were observed.ConclusionIncreasing temperature was associated with increased rates of traumatic injury claims in Oregon that were more pronounced in Ag/Construction workers. Future work should focus on further understanding these associations and effective injury prevention strategies.

Clinical negligence claims for pressure injuries from the perspective of a tissue viability medico-legal nurse expert.

Clinical negligence claims for pressure injuries against the NHS continue to rise annually. This article will discuss the number of claims and financial costs to the NHS, together with the legal processes involved. Issues such as duty of care, breach of duty and harm and how these are interpreted in law will be explained, together with advice on how to avoid a potential negligence claim in the future. The author will discuss scenarios specific to primary care, such as non-adherence to pressure injury prevention strategies and how to manage these effectively. The importance of accurate, concise, relevant and factual documentation will also be discussed in detail.

New Zealand cricket injury analysis based on 12 years of Accident Compensation Corporation data

ObjectivesTo provide epidemiological data for cricket injuries in New Zealand.MethodsA retrospective analytical review using epidemiological cricket data obtained from the national Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) for 2005–2016. Injury incidence was...

Poor Sports, Good Spectacle? A Case Study of an Engaging Wimbledon YouTube Drama

In the 2021 Wimbledon tennis tournament in the third round of the women’s singles, there was a significant dispute between Jelena Ostapenko and Alja Tomljanovic. Several YouTube clips were posted within a day, all capturing in varying ways an intense dispute revolving around a claim of injury and the need for a medical time out at 4-0 in the deciding set. One clip in particular gained many more views than others, and this is used for a qualitative case study of an engaging sporting dispute. Through close attention to detail, insights are realized about the practical interpretive resources used to make judgements about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sports practice. The fine detail of what is visibly and audibly available is key, suggesting that study of the interaction order is indispensable to sociological approaches to sport as engaging spectacle.

BROWNLIE II AND THE SERVICE-OUT JURISDICTION UNDER ENGLISH LAW

AbstractFS Cairo (Nile Plaza) LLC v Brownlie (Brownlie II) is arguably the United Kingdom's highest appellate court's most significant decision this century on a private international law question. The judgment has ended nearly two decades of debate about the meaning of ‘damage’ sustained in England for the purpose of paragraph 3.1(9)(a) of Practice Direction 6B of the Civil Procedure Rules. In a four-to-one majority ruling, the Supreme Court decided that the provision was to be interpreted widely, such that, in a personal injury claim, any significant harm of any kind suffered by a claimant in England could provide a basis for the service of proceedings on a foreign-based defendant. The article is critical of the majority's decision, as it is liable to create both immediate and long-term problems in the context of the service-out jurisdiction in England. It also examines the court's pronouncements on the other question before it concerning proof of foreign law.

Direct and indirect costs associated with injury in sub-elite football in Australia: a population study using 3 years of sport insurance records

ObjectivesTo determine the direct and indirect costs of injuries in sub-elite footballers in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, stratified by injury location, type, sex and age groups. DesignDescriptive epidemiological study. MethodsA de-identified insurance database containing three seasons (2018–2020) of football injuries in NSW was used to determine injury costs. Injuries were coded using the Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System. Claim costs are presented by age group (Junior = 7–17 years, Senior = 18–34 years, and Veteran = 35+ years), sex and injury location and type. Cost data are reported as means ± standard deviation (SD) with 95 % Confidence Intervals (CI). ResultsThere were 4145 total injury claims, totalling AU$13,716,173, at a mean cost of $3309 (95 % CI 3042–3577) per injury. Joint sprains accrued the largest costs ($6,665,938) with knee injuries accounting for just under half of the total costs of all injuries over the three-season period (49.1 %). ACL injuries accounted for 26.2 % of total costs with a high mean cost per injury ($4564 SD ± 346) alongside lower limb fractures ($4787 SD ± 425) and tendon ruptures ($4659 SD ± 1053). Despite only 22.5 % of injuries accruing indirect costs, these costs accounted for 70.2 % of the total cost ($9,623,665) with the mean indirect cost per injury being ten-times higher than the mean direct cost per injury ($10,337 vs. $987, respectively). ConclusionsKnee injuries (mainly ACL ruptures), joint sprains, fractures and tendon ruptures are the costliest injuries in sub-elite football in NSW. With effective preventative measures available, there is potential to reduce injury rates and subsequent costs.

Impact of Timing of Mental Health Interventions for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: A 10-year Matched Cohort Study of Workers' Compensation Claims.

To examine the impact of timing of mental health interventions in workers' compensation claims for mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). A 10-year matched retrospective cohort study of MTBI claims. Cases who started treatment within 3 months of the date of injury were hard matched to cases who started treatment more than 3 months after the date of injury. Outcomes were incremental cost difference and loss of earnings benefit duration 1 year after first intervention. Seventeen percent (17%) of patients received mental health interventions. The early mental health intervention group had lower mean costs (incremental difference$1580 [95% CI: $5718 to $2085]) and shorter durations of disability (off loss of earnings) (59.2% versus 46.6%, NS). Sensitivity and stratified analyses demonstrated the same trend. Early mental health interventions for MTBI patients may lead to reduced health care costs and shorter durations of disability.

Commentary: Standard of Care During a Crisis: What Should a Surgeon Know (and Do)?

Commentary: Standard of Care During a Crisis: What Should a Surgeon Know (and Do)?

Effects of patient transfer devices on the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review

Objectives. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of patient transfer assistive devices in reducing the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among nurses. Methods. PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched to identify studies with a quantitative assessment of the efficacy of patient transfer assistive devices on the incidence and injury claims of WMSDs as compared to the manual lifting of patients. A health impact analysis of the pre–post intervention of assistive device implementation was performed. The percentage of the reduction of forces, incidence of WMSDs, number of missed workdays and injury compensation claims were calculated, pooled and presented as boxplots. Results. A total of 25 studies met the inclusion criteria. The best post-intervention outcomes of assistive devices deployment in the healthcare setting included a reduction in WMSD incidence by 59.8%, missed workdays by 90.0% and workers’ compensation claims by 95.0%. Additionally, hand force declined by 71% (p < 0.05) and 70% (p < 0.05) with the use of air-assisted devices and ceiling lifts respectively. Conclusions. Overall, the evidence suggests that patient transfer assistive devices, notably ceiling lifts and air-assisted devices, are effective in reducing the risk of WMSDs among nurses.