Disabling and Fatal Occupational Claim Rates, Risks, and Costs in the Oregon Construction Industry 1990–1997

Abstract

This study estimated injury and illness rates, risk factors, and costs associated with construction work in Oregon from 1990–1997 using all accepted workers' compensation claims by Oregon construction employees (N = 20,680). Claim rates and risk estimates were estimated using a baseline calculated from Current Population Survey data of the Oregon work force. The average annual rate of lost-time claims was 3.5 per 100 workers. More than 50% of claims were by workers under 35 years and with less than 1 year of tenure. The majority of claimants (96.1%) were male. There were 52 total fatalities reported over the period examined, representing an average annual death rate of 8.5 per 100,000 construction workers. Average claim cost was $10,084 and mean indemnity time was 57.3 days. Structural metalworkers had the highest average days of indemnity of all workers (72.1), highest average costs per claim ($16,472), and highest odds ratio of injury of all occupations examined. Sprains were the most frequently reported injury type, constituting 46.4% of all claims. The greatest accident risk occurred during the third hour of work. Training interventions should be extensively utilized for inexperienced workers, and prework exercises could potentially reduce injury frequency and severity.

Keywords:

• construction
• fatalities
• injuries
• occupational safety
• surveillance
• workers' compensation

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank Gary A. Helmer and the Oregon Department of Business and Consumer affairs for providing the workers' compensation data used in this analysis. Manisha Jhamb performed valuable graduate assistant work in assisting us with the final manuscript.

Notes

^A CI = confidence interval.

^B nec = not elsewhere classified.

^A TTD = temporary total disability.

^B PPD = permanent partial disability.

^C nec = not elsewhere classified.

^A nec = not elsewhere classified.

^A CI = Confidence interval.