KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation 28th Annual Statistical Report Fiscal Year 2002
January 2003
Richard E. Beyer, Secretary of Human Resources Philip S. Harness, Director of Workers Compensation
For More Information Contact: KANSAS DIVISION OF WORKERS COMPENSATION Technology & Statistics Section David Sprick Research Analyst & Principal Author 800 SW Jackson Street, Suite 600 Topeka, Kansas 66612-1227 (785) 296-4120 ext. 208 [email protected]
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Since beginning my service with the Division of Workers Compensation in August 1995, I have been pleased to be involved in many different projects and activities to make the administration of workers compensation both more efficient and effective. This administration has stressed quality management in our efforts to accomplish major improvements and update the present workers compensation system. This annual report contains information on the Division's operations by section for the past fiscal year, tables of data on the incidence of workplace injuries and illnesses, insurance industry premiums and losses for Kansas, fraud and abuse activity, and revenue and operating expenditures for the Kansas Workers Compensation Fund. The annual report also contains the results of a major statistical study on open and closed claims. The report, however, does not cover all aspects of what happens in the Division nor is it intended to do so, although all of those elements are important. In Fiscal Year 2002, the Division processed 72,875 occupational injury and illness reports, 15,769 applications for hearings, and 3,548 employer elections. The Business section issued 257 self-insurance permits to employers, including 31 to new applicants. The Compliance section established more than 4,500 employer contacts. This year the Fraud and Abuse Unit set a new record and collected the most in restitution and civil penalties ever, $89,550.12 for fiscal year 2002. The Fraud and Abuse Unit has stepped up prosecution of workers compensation fraud violators. Not only is prosecution up, but enforcement of the judgment through collection of fines, penalties and restitution has significantly increased. The Industrial Safety & Health section conducted 1,222 consultations, and 315 audits to assist employers in creating safer work environments for Kansas workers and the Boiler Safety unit conducted 4,066 inspections. In addition, the Ombudsman section provided information upon request to 28,102 parties during the fiscal year. The Research section responded to more than 37,000 requests for workers compensation histories. The Technology and Statistics section verified with the vendor the crossing over of the old mainframe data to the server system, including the computer programs needed to standardize the older data and discontinued further reliance on the database in the mainframe system as of June 2002. In addition, they published the annual report for the Division, containing statistical data on closed claims derived from a recent sample of insurers. The section also began negotiations with the winning bidder for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) implementation, a system to allow electronic reporting of initial injuries and follow-up reports by insurers. The Division hosted three seminars on workers compensation and industrial safety topics during FY2002. I thank all of the employees of the Division of Workers Compensation for the hard work, dedication, and loyalty they exhibit on a daily basis. I also thank the Secretary of Human Resources, Mr. Richard E. Beyer, for the support he has provided during his tenure. The Division continues to receive valuable insight from business and labor, legal counsel, the insurance industry, and health care providers on ways to improve the Kansas workers compensation system. Your assistance and guidance are always welcome. Sincerely,
Philip S. Harness, Acting Director KDHR Workers Compensation Division
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
INTRODUCTION
The Kansas Legislature enacted the state's first law governing workers compensation, as a no-fault system, more than nine decades ago, in 1911. Although many significant changes to its provisions have been made since then, the basic premise and purpose of that law have remained much the same. The premise is that those injured in industrial accidents should be compensated regardless of who is at fault. The purpose is to provide protection to the injured employee through employer safety efforts, medical treatment, and partial compensation for lost income.1 Until 1939, the responsibility for administering the workers compensation law resided with a "workmen's compensation commissioner" whose authority extended from a series of public commissions to whom the position reported, including the Public Safety Commission in the 1920s and the Commission of Labor and Industry in the 1930s. In 1939 the Kansas Legislature created, and transferred jurisdiction over workers compensation to, a stand-alone agency named the Office of the Workmen's Compensation Commissioner. In 1961, the legislature reorganized the office again, into the Office of the Director of Workers Compensation; this office subsequently became a Division under the Department of Human Resources. Today's Division of Workers Compensation, while having grown and having undergone considerable organizational changes, is in many ways still the same agency that was created in 1939. The current workers compensation law covers all employers in Kansas, regardless of the number of employees or the kind of work they do, with two exceptions: those employers engaged in agricultural pursuits; and any employer during a given calendar year who has an estimated payroll less than $20,000, unless the employer is a subcontractor. The State of Kansas pays no workers compensation benefits to injured workers unless they are state employees. Private employers pay all benefits owed to their injured workers, either directly from the employer's own resources, or indirectly through another party. While most covered employers obtain insurance from private carriers or group pools, provisions in the law establish criteria for certain employers to become self-insured. Potentially eligible employers must apply for approval from the Director of Workers Compensation. Criteria include continuous operation for at least five years, a minimum level of after-tax earnings, and a minimum debt/equity ratio. The Kansas Insurance Department approves the formation of group-funded self-insurance pools and determines whether an employer qualifies for membership in a pool.
1
Madison v. Key Work Clothes, 182 Kan. 186, 192, 318 P. 2d 991 (1957).
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
BENEFITS INFORMATION
COMPENSATION
Kansas's workers compensation law requires that an employer or its insurance carrier pay an injured employee two-thirds of the employee's gross average weekly wage up to the amount of the applicable maximum benefits listed below. To find the appropriate maximum, look in the schedule below for the range of dates that would conta in the date of injury, and then go to the right to find the maximum dollar amount of the benefit. For example, if the date of injury was August 21, 1993, the maximum weekly benefit one could receive would be $313. The actual amount one receives is the le sser of two amounts: either two-thirds of one's gross average weekly wage; or, the maximum in effect at the date of the injury. This effective maximum does not change over the life of one's claim, even though the maximum benefit level for each new 12-month interval usually increases by a small amount .
Maximum Compensation Schedule Date of Injury July 1, 1992-June 30, 1993 July 1, 1993-June 30, 1994 July 1, 1994-June 30, 1995 July 1, 1995-June 30, 1996 July 1, 1996-June 30, 1997 July 1, 1997-June 30, 1998 July 1, 1998-June 30, 1999 July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000 July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001 July 1, 2001-June 30, 2002 July 1, 2002-June 30, 2003 Current Weekly Minimum: Maximum Benefit $299 $313 $319 $326 $338 $351 $366 $383 $401 $417 $432 $25
MEDICAL
A person injured on the job is entitled to all medical treatment that may be needed to cure or relieve the effects of the injury. Under the law, the employer has the right to choose the treating physician. If the worker seeks treatment from a doctor not authorized or agreed upon by the employer, the insurance company is only liable up to $500 toward such medical bills. The employee does have the right to apply to the Director of Workers Compensation for a change of doctor. An injured worker is generally entitled to mileage reimbursement for trips to see a physician for distances in excess of five miles for the round trip. The injured worker generally can also obtain reimbursement if transportation must be hired. Weekly compensation is payable at the above applicable rate for the duration of the disability. In no case can such payments exceed a total of $125,000 for permanent total or $100,000 for permanent partial or temporary disability.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
BENEFITS INFORMATION
CATEGORIES OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION BENEFITS
Temporary Total Disability is paid when the employee, due to an injury, is unable to engage in any type of substantial and gainful employment. Benefits are paid for the duration of the disability. Permanent Total Disability is paid when the employee, due to an injury, has been rendered completely and permanently incapable of engaging in any type of substantial and gainful employment. The loss of both eyes, both hands, both arms, both feet, or both legs, and any combination thereof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, shall also constitute a permanent total disability. Substantially total paralysis, or incurable imbecility or insanity, resulting from injury independent of all other causes, shall also constitute permanent total disability. Permanent Partial Scheduled Disability is paid when the employee sustains complete or partial loss of use of a body part, such as an arm, due to a job-related injury. Compensation is limited to a percentage of the scheduled number of weeks. Permanent Partial General Disability is paid when the employee sustains permanent partial disability not specifically covered by the schedule. Compensation is based on the percentage of disability remaining after recovery and is limited to 415 weeks. Survivors' Benefits of $250,000 are paid to an employee's surviving spouse and dependent children if death occurs as a result of injury. If there is no surviving spouse or dependents the legal heirs are entitled to $25,000. Burial expenses up to $5,000 are also covered.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
PERSONNEL DIRECTORY
Name/Office
Assistant Directors Philip Harness Kenneth Hursh Administrative Law Judges Brad Avery Bryce Bendict Pamela Fuller Robert Foerschler Steven Howard Julie Sample Bruce Moore John Clark Jon Frobish Nelsonna Potts -Barnes Workers Compensation Appeals Board Kenton Wirth (Chair) Self Insurance Tom Bradley Coverage & Compliance Don Palmer Fraud & Abuse Investigation Ezra Ginzburg (Asst Atty General) Mediation Jose Castillo Medical Services Terry Tracy MD Ombudsman/Claims Advisory Richard Thomas Rehabilitation Richard Thomas Technology & Statistics Randall Williams Industrial Safety & Health Rudy Leutzinger, Administrator Boiler Safety Unit Don Jenkins Industrial Hygiene Unit Helen Cook Industrial Safety Unit Gil Samuels Data Operations Unit Gary Johnson Special Activities Unit Paul Kosmala
Address/Floor
800 SW Jackson, 7 th Floor Topeka, KS 66612-1227
Telephone No.
(785) 296-4000
Topeka Topeka Garden City Overland Park Overland Park Overland Park Salina Wichita Wichita Wichita 14th Floor 6th Floor 6th Floor 8th Floor 7th Floor 10th Floor 7th Floor 7th Floor 6th Floor 512 SW 6th Avenue Topeka, KS 66603-3174 512 SW 6th Avenue White City El Dorado 512 SW 6th Avenue 512 SW 6th Avenue
(785) (785) (316) (913) (913) (913) (785) (316) (316) (316)
296-7012 296-7012 275-0414 642-7650 642-7650 642-7650 827-0724 264-0220 264-0220 264-0220
(785) 296-8484 (785) 296-3606 (785) 296-6767 (785) 296-6392 (785) 296-0848 (785) 296-0846 (785) 296-2996 (785) 296-2996 (785) 296-4120
(785) 296-7476
(785) 296-4589 (785) 349-2536 (316) 320-1784 (785) 296-2251 (785) 296-4386
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This 28th Annual Report would not have been possible without the dedication and resourcefulness of the following people and organizations:
KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES Division of Workers Compensation Philip S. Harness, Assistant Director Kenneth Hursh, Assistant Director Technology & Statistics Section Randall Williams, Director of Technology & Statistics Section David Sprick, Research Analyst and principal author Robert O'Loughlin, Analyst Intern and contributing author Andrew Bell, Research Analyst and data administrator of the Open and Closed Claims Study Alan Stanton, Research Analyst Jeanne Krehbiel, Medical Fee program Georgia Rogers, Program Consultant Nancy Hawkins-Smith, Senior Administrative Assistant Fraud & Abuse Section Ezra Ginzburg, Assistant Attorney General, Fraud & Abuse Judy Hanna, Fraud & Abuse Cover designed by: Connie Hammond, KDHR Division of Marketing and Communications Editing: Kristi Pankratz, KDHR Division of Marketing and Communications
KANSAS INSURANCE DEPARTMENT Insurance Experience and Workers Compensation Fund Tables furnished by: Sabrina Wells, Comptroller Michelle Brown Dick Cook WASHBURN UNIVERSITY Statistical Consultation: Dr. Ron Wasserstein, Professor of Statistics
Special thanks are due to the carriers, group pools, and self-insured entities that were asked to participate in the call for data that allowed the Division to include information in the section on open and closed claims in Kansas.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables & Charts...................................................................................................................... 9 SECTION ONE: Administrative Profile of the Division of Workers Compensation....................... 11 Business & Accounting ......................................................................................................... 12 Industrial Safety & Health..................................................................................................... 14 Judicial................................................................................................................................ 16 Workers Compensation Appeals Board.................................................................................. 18 Fraud & Abuse..................................................................................................................... 19 Applications ......................................................................................................................... 20 Coverage & Compliance ....................................................................................................... 21 Data Collection & Data Entry................................................................................................ 22 Mediation............................................................................................................................. 23 Medical Services .................................................................................................................. 24 Ombudsman/Claims Advisory............................................................................................... 25 Rehabilitation ....................................................................................................................... 27 Research.............................................................................................................................. 28 Technology & Statistics ........................................................................................................ 29 Organizational Chart FY2002 ................................................................................................ 30 SECTION TWO: Incidence of Workplace Injury and Illness in Kansas ......................................... 31 Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in Kansas......................................................................... 32 Kansas Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates.......................................................... 52 SECTION THREE: Workers Compensation Claims Statistics ....................................................... 63 The Kansas Workers Compensation Fund .............................................................................. 64 Workers Compensation Insurance Experience ........................................................................ 65 The Kansas Open and Closed Claim (OCC) Study .................................................................. 66 The2002 Open and Closed Claim Study ................................................................................. 67 A Comparative Analysis of 1999-2002 Claim Costs & Characteristics ..................................... 80 SECTION FOUR: Workers Compen sation Fraud & Abuse........................................................... 85 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 86 Referrals .............................................................................................................................. 87 Investigations ....................................................................................................................... 89 Collections ........................................................................................................................... 91 APPENDIX A: Technical Notes...................................................................................................... 93 Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates ..................................................................... 94 Kansas Open and Closed Claim (OCC) Study Methodology.................................................... 94
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
LIST OF TABLES & CHARTS
TABLES
SECTION ONE
1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-5 Assessments Collected During Calendar Year 2000 ................................................................... 13 Self-Insurance Summary .......................................................................................................... 13 Administrative Law Judges' Case Activity ................................................................................ 17 FY2000-FY2002 Ombudsman Contacts .................................................................................... 26 FY2002 Requests for Information from the Research Section ..................................................... 28
SECTION TWO 2-1 Kansas Total Occupational Injuries & Illnesses By Severity FY1992-FY2002 ............................. 34 2-2 Severity of Injury & Illness as Percentage of Total Injuries & Illnesses FY1992-FY2002 ............. 34 2-3 Counties Reporting Greatest Number of Total Injuries & Illnesses FY2002 ................................. 35 2-4 Most Frequent Source of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (by Total Inj/Ill) FY2002................... 36 2-5 Most Frequent Cause of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (by Total Inj/Ill) FY2002 .................... 36 2-6 Most Frequent Nature of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (by Total Inj/Ill) FY2002 ................... 37 2-7 Body Member Most Frequently Associated with Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (by Total Inj/Ill) FY2002 .......................................................................................................... 38 2-8 Industries with Greatest Number of Total Occupational Injuries & Illnesses FY2002.................... 39 2-9 Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Gender FY2002................................................................. 39 2-10 Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Age FY2002...................................................................... 39 2-11 Location (County) of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002 ............................... 41 2-12 Source of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002 ................................................ 44 2-13 Cause of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002.................................................. 46 2-14 Nature of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002................................................. 47 2-15 Body Member Reported in Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002 ....................... 49 2-16 Industries Reporting Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002 ................................ 50 2-17 Kansas Non-Fatal Occupational Injury & Illness Rate FY1992-FY2002 ...................................... 54 2-18 BLS Survey of Kansas Private Sector Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate 1994-2000.... 56 2-19 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Wholesale Trade FY1993-FY2002 ........ 57 2-20 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Mining Sector FY1993-FY2002............ 58 2-21 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Construction FY1993-FY2002 .............. 58 2-22 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Manufacturing FY1993-FY2002........... 59 2-23 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Transportation FY1993-FY2002 .......... 59 2-24 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Retail Trade. FY1993-FY2002.............. 60 2-25 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Finance FY1993-FY2002 ..................... 60 2-26 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Services FY1993-FY2002 .................... 61 2-27 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate for Kansas Public Sector FY1993-FY2002 ............. 61 SECTION THREE 3-1 Workers Compensation Fund Case Load Scheduled ................................................................... 64 3-2 Workers Compensation Fund Expenditure Analysis ................................................................... 64 3-3 Workers Compensation Fund Receipts Analysis......................................................................... 65 3-4 Workers Compensation Insurance Experience............................................................................ 66 3-5 2002 Closed Claim Costs Statistics............................................................................................ 67 3-6 2002 Closed Claims Time Intervals ........................................................................................... 68 3-7 2002 Closed Claims Percentage of Impairment .......................................................................... 69 3-8 2002 Closed Claims Attorney Involvement with Claim............................................................... 69
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
LIST OF TABLES & CHARTS
TABLES Continued
3-9 3-10 3-11 3-12 3-13 3-14 2002 Closed Claims Legal Expenses Associated with Claim....................................................... 70 2002 Closed Claims Average Wage & Indemnity by Employer Payroll ....................................... 70 2002 OCC Study: Workers Compensation Claims in Kansas....................................................... 82 2001 OCC Study: Workers Compensation Claims in Kansas....................................................... 83 2000 OCC Study: Workers Compensation Claims in Kansas....................................................... 83 1999 OCC Study: Workers Compensation Claims in Kansas....................................................... 84
SECTION FOUR 4-1 Overview of Fraud & Abuse Unit Activity................................................................................. 86 4-2 Who is Reporting Fraud, Abuse & Lack of Compliance.............................................................. 87 4-3 Referrals by County ................................................................................................................. 88 4-4 Number of Fraud, Abuse & Compliance Cases Reported........................................................... 89 4-5 Number of Cases...................................................................................................................... 90 4-6 Fraud, Abuse & Compliance Collections ................................................................................... 91
CHARTS
SECTION ONE
1-1 1-2 Industrial Health & Safety Administrative Activity .................................................................... 15 FY1999-FY2002 Total Ombudsman Contacts............................................................................ 26
SECTION TWO 2-1 Rate of Occupational Injury & Illness Per 100 FTE by Severity FY1992-2002 ............................. 54 SECTION THREE 3-1 Distribution of Claimants by Age: Closed Claims 2002 .............................................................. 72 3-2 Average Claim Costs by Age of Claimant: Closed Claims 2002 .................................................. 72 3-3 Average Claim Costs by Gender of Claimant: Closed Claims 2002 ............................................. 73 3-4 Most Frequent Causes of Injury: Closed Claims 2002................................................................. 73 3-5 Average Claim Costs for the Most Frequent Causes of Injury: Closed Claims 2002 ...................... 74 3-6 Most Frequently Reported Nature of Claimant Injury: Closed Claims 2002.................................. 74 3-7 Average Claim Costs for Most Frequently Reported Nature of Claimant Injury: Closed Cla ims 2002 ...................................................................................................... 75 3-8 Most Frequent Major Body Region Injured by Claimant: Closed Claims 2002 ............................. 75 3-9 Average Claim Costs by Major Body Region: Closed Claims 2002 ............................................. 76 3-10 Most Frequent Scheduled Body Part Claims: Closed Claims 2002............................................... 76 3-11 Average Claim Costs for Most Frequent Scheduled Body Parts: Closed Claims 2002 ................... 77 3-12 Most Frequent Unscheduled Body Part Claims: Closed Claims 2002 ........................................... 77 3-13 Average Claim Costs for the Most Frequent Unscheduled Body Parts: Closed Claims 2002 .......... 78 3-14 Most Frequent Type of Claimant Injury: Closed Claims 2002 ..................................................... 78 3-15 Average Indemnity Costs by Type of Claimant Injury: Closed Claims 2002................................. 79 3-16 Claim Costs for Carpal Tunnel and All Other Cumulative Injuries: Closed Claims 2002 ............... 79
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Section 1
Administrative Profile of the Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
BUSINESS & ACCOUNTING SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§
§
§ § §
Review and approve or disapprove applications of individual employers requesting to become self-insured. Also, annually review existing permits to decide if a company still meets the criteria to be self-insured in the state of Kansas, pursuant to K.S.A. 44-532 and K.A.R. 54-14-4. Collect and tabulate information needed to issue assessments against insurance carriers, group pools, and self-insured employers to generate sufficient fees to support the Division, as mandated by K.S.A. 74-712 through 74-719. Prepare the budget annually within established deadlines and monitor monthly expenditures. Order equipment and supplies as needed to maintain the operations and efficiency of more than 100 employees in Topeka and in four regional offices. Sell workers compensation law books and medical fee schedules to the public as required by law.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ §
Assessed and collected fees from 946 insurance carriers, group pools, and individual self-insured employers. Approved the renewal of a net 257 permits, approved 31 new applicants, and processed 24 cancellations.
OBJECTIVES
§ § §
Consult with self-insured companies in order to improve and simp lify the application process. Complete the annual budget preparation prior to the established due dates. Complete a financial report containing review and analysis of all banks issuing letters of credit to selfinsured companies.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
BUSINESS & ACCOUNTING SECTION Table 1-1 Assessments Collected During Calendar Year 2001
Reported losses paid in calendar year 2001 Current assessment factor Assessments collected during calendar year 2001 Number of carriers and self-insurers reporting $369,282,714 0.02680 $9,903,804 946
Table 1-2 Self-Insurance Summary
FY02 Employers' New Applications Approved Canceled Permits Qualified Employers Group-Funded Pools in Force 31 24 257 15 FY01 27 17 250 15 FY00 21 24 240 15 FY99 13 27 243 15 FY98 17 37 257 16 FY97 26 29 277 23 FY96 20 42 280 23
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
INDUSTRIAL SAFETY & HEALTH SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§
§
§
§
§
§
21(d) CONSULTATION: offers assistance to private sector employers in safety and health program evaluations. Consultants offer advice in the recognition, evaluation, and control of hazards in the workplace. Assistance with program initiation and development is available. Training, both formal and informal, is performed in all areas of safety and health. All services are at no cost to the client. PUBLIC SECTOR COMPLIANCE: monitors the public sector--cities, counties, state agencies, and school districts by performing compliance audits under KSA 44-636. Occupational hazards are identified and program elements are assessed. Hazards must be abated within 60 days. Investigations of employee complaints, near misses and fatalities are also conducted. ACCIDENT PREVENTION: evaluates insurance companies to ensure that they are offering safety and health services to their insured as required by law. The quality and quantity of these services are evaluated by trained consultants by directly reviewing insurance company records. An annual report is completed each year and forwarded to the insurance commissioner. BOILER SAFETY INSPECTIONS: performs periodic state-certified regular and special inspections of all boilers private and public as required by law. Boiler safety has a high priority as indicated under KSA 44913 et seq. Boiler and pressure vessel manufacturers and repair firms are monitored. All new installations of pressure vessels in the state are inspected. Boiler safety has a high priority. The boiler program is fee funded. STATE WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY: directs the establishment of health and safety programs in state agencies. Trained consultants perform inspections to identify hazards and assess program elements. Training is provided on a variety of occupational subjects from construction safety to office ergonomics. Employee complaints and accident investigations are also performed. SAFETY & HEALTH CONFERENCE COMMITTEE: plans and organizes the annual Kansas Safety & Health conference to bring industrial, academic, vendor, and government safety representatives together. The conference is self-supporting and seeks to address the relevant safety issues in a variety of workshops and presentations.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ §
§
§
§ §
Performed 1,222 consultations over the most recent evaluation period; 8,656 hazards were identified, and 3,427 were classified as serious and were corrected. Performed public sector inspections in 219 cities, counties, school districts, and other establishments; 2,400 discrepancies were identified and corrected. 20 employee complaints were assessed and 2 public sector fatalities were investigated. More than 12,302 public sector employees were affected by these inspections. Audited 315 workplaces with 21,157 employees under Accident Prevention. There were 1,820 types of hazards identified. Insurance companies doing business in Kansas during FY2002 reported that 8,254 inspections had been completed. Conducted 4,066 boiler inspections during FY2002 which resulted in $380,812 in inspection fees. Additionally, fifteen shop reviews and 22 special inspections were conducted which brought in $10,197 and $8,605 respectively. The state general fund received 20 percent of these funds or $37,023 from these funds. During this year, nearly 12,385 certificates were issued. Performed 148 inspections of state agencies with 21,197 affected employees. During the course of these inspections, 1,317 hazards were identified and abated. Hosted 325 attendees at the 53rd Annual Safety and Health Conference in Wichita, Kansas.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
INDUSTRIAL SAFETY & HEALTH SECTION
OBJECTIVES
§ § § §
Complete 800 consultations under the 21(d) Consultation Program. Perform 200 compliance visits of cities, counties, and school districts. Respond to all public sector complaints and perform investigations of all fatalities and near misses. Increase the number of Accident Prevention audits to 400 and offer assistance to insurance carriers for improving the quality of safety and health services through an internship program. Conduct 3,400 boiler inspections, issue 10,000 certificates, and inspect all new boiler and pressure vessel installations in the state.
Figure 1-1 Industrial Safety & Health Administrative Activity
4500 4000 3500 3000 Count 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 Consultations Public Sector Inspections Workplace Audits Boiler Inspections State Agency Inspections
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
JUDICIAL SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§ § §
Provide timely hearings in contested workers compensation claims. Issue a written decision within five days of the preliminary hearing. Issue an award following the regular hearing within 30 days of submission of the evidence.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ § § §
§
Continued to provide technical training for several administrative law judges at the National Judicial College. Continued to effectively m anage significant caseloads with a large number of preliminary, regular, and post-award hearings. Continued implementation of a uniform policy for scheduling and holding preliminary or motion hearings within 21 days of the request for hearing. Continued educational outreach to the public about the workers compensation laws and fostered better understanding of the workers compensation judicial procedure. This was accomplished by several administrative law judges accepting public speaking invitations. Continued management training for all administrative law judges to assist in the efficient operation of each regional office.
OBJECTIVES
§ § § § § §
Continue to upgrade the section's information processing technology and to help the administrative law judge research, and to assist their staff in meeting production and record retention requirements. Provide additional training for the judicial section staff in order to efficiently accomplish the primary functions of the section. Implement a meeting schedule for the adminis trative law judges to discuss methods to enact systemic change in order to continue to provide timely hearings and decisions. Increase outreach programs to educate the public and eliminate myths concerning the workers compensation judicial process. Continue to provide additional technical training for the administrative law judges at judicial colleges. Continue having offices test new software applications to assist and improve performance of judicial duties.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
JUDICIAL SECTION
Table 1-3
Administrative Law Judges' Case Activity
Cases Assigned Awards Agreed Awards Preliminary Hearing Held Regular Hearing Held Settlement Hearing Held Motion Hearing Held Post-Award Hearing Held Pre-Hearing Settlement Conference Held Case to Inactive Status Cases Submitted for Decision Preliminary Awards Granted Temporary Total & Medical Temporary Total Medical Preliminary Order Preliminary Awards Denied Temporary Total & Medical Temporary Total Medical Settlement of Cases Set for Hearing Settlement of Cases Not Set for Hearing
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
7,817 516 671 2,260 822 290 336 20 4,952 3,383 366 1,760 507 222 821 210 338 152 65 121 4,815 3,617
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
WORKERS COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§ § § Responsible for providing de novo review of administrative law judge decisions appealed in workers compensation matters. Responsible for deciding all appeals from a final order or award. Jurisdiction of preliminary hearing appeals is limited to certain issues. Responsible for insuring that decisions are made in compliance with existing workers compensation laws and regulations.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ § § Reduced the amount of time required from appeal to decision. Issued 505 decisions involving both awards and orders during the period July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002. The board received 571 applications for review during the period from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002 and had a total of 560 dispositions. Continue to maintain and update the Workers Compensation Appeals Board Index of Decisions Web site. The Index is a quick reference and research tool supplementing the Division of Workers Compensation web site by accessing select Board decisions. The Web address is: www.wcboard.hr.state.ks.us. The Index is broken out into three separate sections. The Keyword Index and Table of Contents sections contain workers compensation topics that are each assigned a subsection number. Once a topic and corresponding subsection number are picked users can go to the Case Summaries section, which contains summaries of relevant Board decisions arranged by subsection numbers. The site includes a search engine and among other choices, allows users to: 1) calculate days/weeks when figuring awards, 2) look up frequently asked questions (FAQs), and 3) convert case names into docket numbers to access the full-text version of the Board's decisions.
OBJECTIVES
§ § Continue to work with the Director's office to implement rules and regulations that will simplify the appeals process. Continue to look for ways to become more efficient and more timely in its decisions.
Visit the Workers Compensation Appeals Board Web site at: www.wcboard.hr.state.ks.us
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
FRAUD & ABUSE SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§ § § § Created to combat fraudulent activities by claimants and to prevent abusive practices by respondents. Investigates alleged violations of the Workers Compensation Act. If a violation of the Act is discovered, the section attempts to pursue administrative remedies when appropriate. In certain cases, the section may ask county or district attorneys to file criminal charges. Reports other criminal activities discovered through its investigations. When appropriate, this section turns cases over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Insurance Department or appropriate federal and state authorities. Works with the Division's Compliance section to ensure that Kansas employers maintain the proper amount of workers compensation insurance as prescribed by law.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2
§ § § Investigated more than 1,100 alleged fraudulent or abusive acts since the inception of the unit in 1994. 3 Filed numerous administrative actions. Many of these resulted in restitution paid to the victims, or fines paid to the Division. Conducted investigations that resulted in an increase during FY2002 in the number of administrative cases filed by the Assistant Attorney General assigned to the Division of Workers Compensation and criminal cases filed by county or district attorneys around the state.4 Disposition in many of these cases resulted in restitution by the defendant, and in some cases jail or probation time as well.
OBJECTIVES
§ § § Continue high standards of investigation and ensure the continued prosecution of criminal activity. Encourage County and District Attorneys to file more criminal proceedings against those who violate the Workers Compensation Act. Continue the positive working relationship that this section has with other law enforcement agencies as well as other sections of the Division. Continue educational programs designed to explain what workers compensation fraud is, what its costs are, and how to combat it.
§
FRAUD HOTLINE 1-800-332-0353 24hrs/day / 1 -785-296-6392 (8am-5pm)
2 3
FRAUD E-MAIL ADDRESS [email protected]
See Section 4 of this report for further details. Last year's report failed to include the fact that the Unit has investigated more than 1,000 fraudulent and abusive acts since its inception in 1994. 4 This is a more accurate description and should have been included in last year's report as well.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
APPLICATIONS SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTION
§ Processing applications for hearings, including the creation of the physical docket file and the coding of information for entry into the Web-based database, which generates notices to all parties involved with each case.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§
Processed each preliminary hearing application in three or fewer days. For FY2002 there was a total of 15,769 applications processed by the section. There were 6,945 preliminary hearing applications and 6,152 applications for a regular hearing during FY2002. Assignment of an administrative law judge was made for each case, and notices were printed for all parties involved. There were 47 applications for a surviving spouse or dependent hearing filed with this unit and 291 post award medical applications. A total of 2,334 "miscellaneous" applications were processed by the unit and include a applications for amendments, ll review and modifications, penalties, insolvent impleading, corrections, and returned notices.
OBJECTIVES
§ §
Continue to provide outstanding service to both internal and external customers. Develop a plan to implement an imaging system to process accident reports and other documents in the Division.
20
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
COVERAGE & COMPLIANCE SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
There are currently two Units within the Coverage & Compliance Section. They include the following: § Compliance - Ensure all employers doing business in Kansas are in compliance with and aware of their responsibilities regarding the Workers Compensation Act. Enforce proof of coverage and compliance requirements. § Accident Reporting - Research and confirm illegible, incorrect or incomplete information received on accident report forms and prepare the corrected information for further processing.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ § Compliance - Established more than 4,500 contacts regarding proof of coverage. Of these, 365 were required to obtain new coverage and 1,532 were starting new businesses in Kansas that this section investigated. Enforcement efforts ensured the employee a safe and protected work environment. Accident Reporting - A keen eye for detail enabled the Accident Reporting Unit to research, confirm, and process illegible, incorrect, or incomplete accident reports.
OBJECTIVES
§ § Establish electronic data reporting between NCCI and Contributions and develop a plan to improve the processing of accident reports. Maintain cooperation between various state and national entities.
21
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
DATA COLLECTION SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§
Reviews awards, settlements, and final receipt and releases of liability data of amounts paid for temporary total and permanent partial disability, attorney fees, and medical costs. This unit prepares all cases, which are being sent to the Court of Appeals, for mailing.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§
Collected information on dollar amounts, type of payments made, body part being compensated, percent of disability rating, and attorney fees; information was collected from 448 awards, 566 agreed awards, 9,075 settlements, 212 joint petition and stipulations, and approximately 138 final receipt and release of liabilities. Court reporter fee information was also collected.
OBJECTIVES
§ §
Continue to provide outstanding service to customers in and out of the Division. Develop a plan to implement an imaging system to process accident reports and other documents in the Division.
DATA ENTRY SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§ § Codes and enters data into a computerized database, from all accident reports filed with the Division.
Data Entry - Ensure all accident reports received are accurately coded and keyed into the Web-based database system in a timely fashion.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ Coded and entered into the mainframe computer 74,313 accident and disease reports received during this fiscal year. Codes provide information such as body part, cause, nature, and source of the injury. Carrier and employer information is also gathered from accident reports filed. The reports entered also generate labels for letters to the injured workers, answering questions about benefits and procedures. Statistics for the annual statistical report are made available from the information on the accident reports. Data Entry - Diligent effort put forth by the three Data Entry staff ensure the accident reports are accurately coded and keyed. Future statistics and all accident reporting information is based on the exceptional coding and keying skill of the Data Entry staff.
§
OBJECTIVES
§ § Continue to provide outstanding service to customers in and out of the Division. Develop a plan to implement an imaging system to process accident reports and other documents in the Division.
22
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
MEDIATION SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§ § §
Provide parties a means of resolving disputes in an informal and non-adversarial atmosphere. Assist parties in resolving their disputes. Provide mediation conferences in a timely manner.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ § § Maintai ned a mediation process that is user friendly and responsive to our customers' needs. Conducted mediation conferences in a timely manner (within seven days or as requested by the parties). Provided educational training to insurance carriers on the benefits of using the mediation process as a means of resolving disputes.
OBJECTIVES
§ § § § Educate the public on the benefits of using mediation as a means of resolving disputes. Increase the use of the mediation process. Provide cost savings to the workers compensation system by reducing the number of issues being litigated. Implement video conferencing technology within the mediation process.
23
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
MEDICAL SERVICES SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§
§ §
Administration of the medical fee schedule. The schedule of maximum fees is to be current, reasonable, and fair. Revision of the schedule is required, as necessary, every two years, in order to promote health care cost containment, yet insure the availability of necessary treatment and care for injured employees. Administration of plans for both utilization review and peer review of health care services. Act as a liaison between health care providers, attorneys, employers, employees, and insurance carriers or self-insured businesses.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ § § § Implementation of a new version of the medical fee schedule, December 1, 2001. Implementation and Refinement of a contract agreement between the Kansas Division of Workers Compensation and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to combine resources for the collection and analysis of health care data. Working with other sections of the Division toward the development of an electronic system for bill payments and data entry. Successful utilization of the new regulations for hearings to decrease the number of formal hearings and further litigation.
OBJECTIVES
§ § § Completion of the next required revision of the medical fee schedule by December 2003. Consideration for an on-line version of the next fee schedule, possibly available the first quarter of 2004. Await reports related to the Medicare Ambulatory Patient Group (APG) based prospective payment system for hospital outpatient services prior to developing a similar system for Workers Compensation.
24
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
OMBUDSMAN/CLAIMS ADVISORY SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§ § § §
Assist injured workers, employers, and other parties to protect their rights under the workers compensation act. To provide technical assistance to all parties on workers compensation. Assist unrepresented claimants in obtaining a hearing, mediation or appeal. Provide presentations and training opportunities to interested parties.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ § § § § § §
Provided a point of contact for all parties to clarify issues and obtain information. Received and/or initiated 28,102 contacts, which included general information, specific issues regarding reported and unreported accidents and on-site visits to employers. Provided educational opportunities for 35 employers and insurance groups, including employers in the assigned risk pool. Provided educational opportunities for 1,184 individuals during the past fiscal year. Increased public awareness of resources for parties needing presentations of workers compensation. Provided technical assistance to employers through on-site visits and training. Established a set of protocols and guidelines for services to employers.
OBJECTIVES
§ § § § §
Increase employer contacts by providing more training to employer groups and making more on-site visits to employers who need assistance. Increase the section's ability to initiate contact with injured workers to see if appropriate information is being received as required by statute. Increase public awareness of the availability of ombudsmen assistance in alternative dispute resolution. Develop a reporting system to track numb er and types of individuals reached by presentations and on-site visits. Increase public awareness and use of the Division's Web site for information and downloadable forms.
25
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
OMBUDSMAN/CLAIMS ADVISORY SECTION
Table 1-4 FY2000-FY2002 Ombudsman Contacts
Category Employees Employers Insurance Carriers Insurance Agents Attorneys Health Care Miscellaneous Omb Files Total Contacts FY2000 13,836 3,176 1,966 521 1,430 901 2,058 6,528 30,416 FY2001 13,253 3,484 1,570 778 1,296 858 3,310 4,197 28,746 FY2002 14,012 4,313 1,933 1,185 1,392 1,107 4,160 N/A* 28,102 Total 41,101 10,973 5,469 2,484 4,118 2,866 9,528 10,725 87,264
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation *For 2002 Omb File Contacts are incorporated into other categories.
Figure 1-2 Total Ombudsman Contacts FY1999-FY2002
28,102
FY2002
FY2001
28,746
FY2000
30,416
FY1999
31,643
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000
26
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
REHABILITATION SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§ § § § § Coordinates vocational rehabilitation services for injured workers when the insurance company/employer elects to provide services. Reviews medical management closures to determine the need for referral to vocational or community programs and services. Refers injured workers to the state vocational rehabilitation agency in which the individual resides when the insurance company/employer elects not to provide services. Monitors the effectiveness of both private and public vocational rehabilitation services for injured Kansas workers. Provides technical assistance for private and public vocational rehabilitation providers by telephone and personal visits.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§ Provided oversight for 78 referrals to qualified private sector vocational rehabilitation vendors. Rehabilitation plans were developed for 48 individuals with 89 percent in job placement and 11 percent in a training program. Twenty-two injured workers were employed following development of a vocational rehabilitation plan. Received 1,546 new medical management referrals. Qualified rehabilitation vendors returned 625 injured workers to their employer (at time of injury) through individualized services. Reviewed 1,337 medical management closure reports to determine those in need of vocational rehabilitation or community services. Informed 181 injured workers of vocational options available through the private and/or public sector vocational services. At the end of FY2002, 38 referred workers were involved with Kansas Rehabilitation Services and out-of-state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Kansas Rehabilitation Services successfully placed three workers referred to their program. Provided technical assistance to the Kansas Division of Rehabilitation Services staff on an individual basis. Researched vocational rehabilitation services for out-of-state residents and referred them to appropriate programs. Provided information and referral to injured workers inquiring about rehabilitation options available from the public and private sectors.
§ § §
§ § §
OBJECTIVES
§ § § § Increase public awareness of the vocational assistance available through the Rehabilitation Section. Continue to educate insurance providers, employers, attorneys, and injured workers of the options and resources available through vocational rehabilitation. Increase the provision of information to all parties and coordinate informational resources with the Ombudsman section. Increase referrals to various vocational service options.
27
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
RESEARCH SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTION
§ Searches through computerized and hard copy files for the workers compensation histories of injured workers, to provide copies of documents to appropriate parties.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§
Responded to more than 37,000 requests from attorneys, insurance carriers, and employers for workers compensation claimant histories .
OBJECTIVES
§ §
Keep turnaround time for research requests to within four days. Continue to provide outstanding service to customers in and out of the Division.
Table 1-5 FY2002 Requests for Information from the Research Section
Month 2001 July August September October November December 2002 January February March April May June Total Requests For Year Average Requests Per Day Attorneys 803 841 685 865 731 611 820 780 790 805 771 767 Insurance Company 312 435 292 398 275 329 297 312 313 502 373 352 Walk-ins 0 4 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 Social Security 2 13 1 1 3 3 3 3 4 3 7 3 Employers 2,112 2,703 1,849 2,331 1,744 1,372 1,569 1,740 1,666 2,238 2,502 2,243 Kansas Insurance Dept 4 1 4 2 1 2 3 4 2 10 9 8 Misc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 3,233 3,997 2,834 3,598 2,756 2,317 2,693 2,839 2,775 3,559 3,663 3,374
9,269
4,190
14
46
24,069
50
0
37,638
37.22
16.83
0.06
0.18
96.66
0.20
0.00
151.16
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
28
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
TECHNOLOGY & STATISTICS SECTION
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
§ §
§
Responsible for working with Division users and the Department's programmers to maintain and enhance the division's new Web-based, client-server system. Responsible for research studies mandated by statute, including studies of closed claims and the effectiveness of the Workers Compensation Act. Collects data as needed or requested, including design of survey instruments, data collection, statistical analysis, and reporting. Responds to individual research requests from both internal and external customers. Responsible for providing workers compensation information to the public and legislature through an annual statistical report, periodic Division newsletter, Web site, and outcome reports from research studies and evaluations. The staff maintains a database of information on work-related accidents in Kansas.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
§
§ § §
§ § §
Participated with the selected vendor in resolving issues related to implementation of the new system. Verified with the vendor to cross over the old mainframe data to the server system, including the computer programs needed to standardize the older data. Discontinued further reliance on the database in the mainframe system as of June 2002. The Section also arranged meetings between programmers and the Division staffs to ensure business needs were addressed. Published the annual report for the Division, containing statistical data on closed claims derived from a recent sample of insurers, also statistics on the accomplishments of the Fraud and Abuse Section. Published a new edition of Workers Compensation laws and regulations. Processed medical fee data received from insurers and carriers, and implemented for the first time a compliance system, in cooperation with the Fraud and Abuse Section, to ensure all entities were reporting properly. Developed a User Manual for the data collection effort subcontracted to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Completed many specialized research projects in response to external customer inquiries. Continued to support the Division's Web site, including the Spanish Web page, and made all Division forms available. Participated on a departmental-wide committee to improve and enhance the Web site. Began negotiations with the winning bidder for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) implementation, a system to allow electronic reporting of initial injuries and follow-up reports by insurers.
OBJECTIVES
§ § § §
§
Complete enhancements and improvements to the new Web-enabled, client-server environment, as requested by Division users, in partnership with the database vendor and departmental programming staff. Publish and distribute an annual statistical report to about 900 interested parties. Continue to conduct statistical searches and prepare reports for internal and external customers. Implement a contract with the winning EDI bidder to implement systems to accept accident reports electronically on a voluntary basis by January 1, 2004 from insurance carriers, group pools, and selfinsured employers, according to statute. Continue to participate with other states and insurers in a national project to develop and expand standards for electronic reporting of accidents. Continue to collect data from Kansas insurers on medical fee charges, in order to assist the Medical Fee Section in preparing the biannual medical fee schedule. Continue working with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, to collect diagnostic, hospital in-patient, and other statutorily required data under contract to the Division.
29
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Organizational Chart Kansas Department of Human Resources Division of Workers Compensation FY2002
Secretary of Human Resources Director of Workers Compensation
Assistant Director
Medical Services Section
Workers Compensation Board
Assistant Director
Industrial Safety & Health
Technology & Statistics Section Business & Accounting Section Rehabilitation Section Ombudsman/Claims Section
Applications Section Data Collection Section Research Section Information Technology Network Administration Verification Section
Coverage & Compliance Section Data Entry Section
Fraud & Abuse Section Judicial Section Mediation Section
Boiler Safety Unit Industrial Hygiene Unit Industrial Safety Unit Data Operations Unit Special Activities Unit
30
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Section 2
Incidence of Workplace Injury and Illness in Kansas
31
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
The state of Kansas has a compelling interest in the safety, health and productivity of its workforce. An important aspect of that commitment is the Division's daily monitoring of the workplace environment and periodic analysis of the incidence and severity of occupational injuries and illnesses within the state. Every year the Division publishes its decision support data for the Legislature and interested parties in the form of the annual statistical report. In the first part of this section we report on many aspects of occupational injuries and illnesses in the state of Kansas for FY2002, including the causes, nature and source, industries and counties in which they occur and the body member implicated in the reported injuries and illnesses. Next, we briefly discuss the widely reported private industry injury incidence rates published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the United States Department of Labor and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and compare and contrast our calculated incidence rates for "non-federal" employment in the state of Kansas for the last 10 fiscal years with those of BLS.
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in Kansas
In order to report more meaningful statistics on both the severity and incidence of occupational injuries and illnesses in the state of Kansas the Division of Workers Compensation has made several policy changes that impact our reporting. In previous annual statistical reports the Division calculated the statewide totals based on the date that the report of injury was processed administratively (internally), not by the date of injury. Since most consumers of our information interpreted the totals reported per fiscal year to be based on injury date rather than processing date the Division has re-calculated all aggregate totals and incidence rates for the previous ten years (fiscal) and published the results in this year's report. Second, during the past fiscal year the Division moved its injury and other data from a series of independent tables on a mainframe computer to a relational database on a client-server system. During the data conversion process the Division was able to purge its system of literally thousands of duplicate injury and illness reports. The enhancement of both the quality and the accuracy of the data represent an increases in its value as a public good, subsequently, the Division has re-calculated the aggregate totals and incidence rates to reflect these policy changes and is reported below. Kansas classifies nonfatal occupational injuries, according to severity, as "no time lost," "time lost," and "hospitalized." "Time lost" injuries are those that "incapacitate the person injured from labor or service for more than the remainder of the day, shift or turn." "No time lost" injuries are defined as those in which the employee did not miss work beyond the remainder of the day, shift or turn. Injuries requiring "hospitalization" are reported as well as workplace injuries and illness resulting in death ("fatal"). In other words, the most severe types of occupational injury or illness are classified as "fatal" while the least severe are reported as "no time lost" cases. Table 2-1 contains the aggregate totals (by severity) of Kansas's occupational injuries and illnesses for the last 10 fiscal years.
§
§ § §
There were 72,825 occupational injuries and illnesses reported to the Division of Workers Compensation during FY2002. The FY2002 total, including fatalities, represents a decrease of more than 12,000 reported injuries and illnesses or a 14.3 percent decrease from last year's total. From another perspective slightly less than 200 employees per day were either injured or killed on the job in Kansas last fiscal year. Workplace fatalities, the most severe type of injury, increased 20 percent from the previous year (53 reported deaths) but were below the 10-year average of 59 reported cases. The 52,549 "no time lost" injuries and illnesses reported constitute 72.2 percent of all reported injuries and illnesses. "No time lost" injuries are down nearly 19 percent from the previous year's numbers.
32
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
§ §
"Time lost" injuries and illnesses totaled 11,876, a 29 percent decrease from the previous year's totals. Injuries and illnesses that required hospitalization (8,347) were up 133 percent from last fiscal year. A note of caution, the Division's initial assessment of the increase in hospitalization cases is that the upward spike is more likely due to data coding mistakes than an increase in the severity of reported occupational injuries. This problem occurred in FY1998 and FY1999 as well. The incidence rates for FY1998 and FY1999 reflected coding difficulties at the point of entry to the Division's mainframe and not a dramatic decrease in the time lost rate. Time lost injuries were coded as "hospitalized" cases and this is reflected in the hospitalization rate for FY1998 and FY1999.
One limitation of reported aggregate totals is that they do not account for year-to-year changes in the workforce population within Kansas. Perhaps the least sophisticated benchmark statistic for comparing year-to-year totals without controlling for workforce population increases/decreases would be to calculate the percentage of total injuries and illnesses that resulted in "no time lost," "time lost," "hospitalization" and in fatality. The rationale is that the state has an interest in knowing what percentage of total injuries and illnesses constitute the range of severity that either decrease productivity, endanger worker safety, disrupt labor participation or that result in death.
§ § § § § §
In FY2002 72 percent of total injuries and illnesses classified as "no time lost," down just under 4 percent from FY2001. The data in Table 2-2 show that the percentage of "no time lost" injuries, the least severe of the four categories, as a percentage of total injuries has increased by nearly 17 percent from FY1992. "Time lost" injuries accounted for roughly 16.3 percent of total injuries in FY2002 and this constitutes a decrease of over 26.2 percent from FY1992. As a percentage of total injuries and illnesses over the past ten fiscal years "no time lost" cases have increased by nearly 17 percent while "time lost" injuries have decreased by over 26 percent. Workplace fatalities have historically accounted for less than 1/10,000 of a percent of total injuries and illnesses. The percentage of "hospitalization" cases has historically hovered between two and 6 percent of total injuries with the notable exception of FY1998 (29 percent) and FY1999 (21 percent) and now FY2002 (11.5 percent) (see above).
Below we discuss the incidence rate per 100 full-time equivalent workers in order to do a fair year-to-year comparison of occupational injury and illness behavior in Kansas.
33
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-1 Kansas Total Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY1992-FY2002
No Time Lost Year Illnesses & Injuries Time Lost Injuries & Illnesses Injuries & Illnesses Requiring Hospitalization Fatal Injuries Total Injuries & Illnesses
FY1992 FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
50,173 50,232 50,406 52,473 68,674 73,415 63,071 68,995 71,327 64,533 52,549
38,548 45,638 45,436 39,474 24,083 17,688 6,994 6,651 15,325 16,788 11,876
1,909 2,211 2,249 2,556 2,846 6,532 28,773 20,023 3,328 3,580 8,347
51 48 57 67 60 64 70 61 69 44 53
90,681 98,129 98,148 94,570 95,663 97,699 98,908 95,730 90,049 84,945 72,825
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Table 2-2 Severity of Injury & Illness as Percentage of Total Injuries & Illnesses FY1992-FY2002
No Time Lost Year Illnesses & Injuries Time Lost Injuries & Illnesses Injuries & Illnesses Requiring Hospitalization Fatal Injuries Total Injuries & Illnesses
FY1992 FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
0.553 0.512 0.514 0.555 0.718 0.751 0.638 0.721 0.792 0.760 0.722
0.425 0.465 0.463 0.417 0.252 0.181 0.071 0.069 0.170 0.198 0.163
0.021 0.023 0.023 0.027 0.030 0.067 0.291 0.209 0.037 0.042 0.115
0.000562 0.000489 0.000581 0.000708 0.000627 0.000655 0.000708 0.000637 0.000766 0.000518 0.000728
90,681 98,129 98,148 94,570 95,663 97,699 98,908 95,730 90,049 84,945 72,825
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses by County
§ §
As expected, counties with the largest population totals report the greatest number of occupational injuries and illnesses (see Table 2-3). Kansas' largest city, Wichita, is located in Sedgwick County, which reported the most number of cases.
34
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
§
§
Johnson County, part of metropolitan Kansas City, includes the second and fifth largest cities in Kansas (Overland Park and Olathe respectively) and reported the second largest number of total injuries and illnesses. 69 percent of the total injuries and illnesses reported in Sedgwick County and 75 percent of total cases from Johnson County resulted in no time lost from work. Shawnee County, which includes the capital of Topeka, had the third largest number of reported total cases.
The aggregate totals for all Kansas counties are listed in Table 2-11.
Table 2-3 Counties Reporting Greatest Number of Total Injuries & Illnesses FY2002
County SEDGWICK JOHNSON SHAWNEE WYANDOTTE UNKNOWN DOUGLAS SALINE RENO RILEY OTHER STATE
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
8,619 8,082 4,071 3,262 1,600 1,627 1,584 1,251 1,128 1,016
2,096 1,583 733 756 312 404 307 293 260 283
1,694 1,104 517 493 403 239 217 179 148 184
9 6 2 5 2 1 1 6
12,418 10,775 5,323 4,516 2,317 2,270 2,109 1,723 1,537 1,489
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Source of Occupational Injury and Illness
§ § §
The most frequent source of both total occupational injuries and illnesses and "no time lost" cases FY2002 were classified as "miscellaneous" (See Table 2-4). Interestingly enough, the Division cannot explain the most frequent source of "time lost" injuries (1,084) since no reason was supplied by the reporting entity. Other co-workers and boxes, barrels, containers continue to constitute a large source of total injuries and illnesses.
The aggregate totals for all types of sources of injury and illness are listed in Table 2-12.
Cause of Occupational Injury and Illness
§
The physical act of lifting is the most frequent cause of occupational injury for "total injuries and illnesses," "no time lost" and "time lost" cases (See Table 2-5).
35
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
§ §
20 percent of lifting injuries result in time lost for the injured worker. Injuries due to objects being lifted (14.1 percent) and/or the use of hand tools and utensils (14.9 percent) require hospitalization, the highest percentage of any of the Division's cause of injury categories.
The aggregate totals for all causes of injury and illness are listed in 2-13.
Table 2-4 Most Frequent Source of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (by Total Inj/Ill) FY2002
Source of Injury & Illness MISC. (EARPLUGS, SHEETROCK ETC) PERSON, OTHER THAN INJURED BOXES, BARRELS, CONTAINERS, PKGS BODILY MOTION FURNITURE, FIXTURES, FURNISHINGS ETC NO EXPLANATION METAL ITEMS, UNS PERSON, INJURED (HEART FAILURE, MENTAL) BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES (WALLS, FENCES) HAND TOOLS, NOT POWERED
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
4,299 4,283 3,543 2,775 2,463 1,358 1,616 1,368 1,461 1,446
807 722 773 825 489 1,084 237 363 300 229
1,025 463 479 373 263 312 359 223 170 222
2
1 2 26
6,131 5,470 4,795 3,973 3,215 2,755 2,214 1,980 1,931 1,897
Table 2-5 Most Frequent Cause of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (by Total Inj/Ill) FY2002
Cause of Injuries & Illnesses LIFTING OTHER INJURY (NOT OTHERWISE CLASSIFIED) ON SAME LEVEL OBJECT BEING LIFTED OR HANDLED HAND TOOL, UTENSIL; NOT POWERED REPETITIVE MOTION FOREIGN BODY IN EYE PUSHING OR PULLING FALLING OR FLYING OBJECT STRUCK BY OR INJURED BY MISC
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
5,748 4,959 3,214 3,179 2,477 2,389 2,373 2,064 1,815 2,008
1,676 919 733 587 308 500 352 525 432 281
773 874 467 620 480 269 417 305 295 236
22 3
1
8,197 6,774 4,414 4,389 3,265 3,158 3,142 2,894 2,543 2,525
36
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Nature of Occupational Injury and Illness
§ § §
15,556 reports of occupational injuries filed with the Division failed to include an explanation of the nature of the occupational injury or illness (See Table 2-6). Of the accident reports filed that did include an explanation, strains and lacerations are the two most common types of injuries reported (same as previous year). 70 percent of the reported strains and over 75 percent of reported lacerations did not result in lost work time
The aggregate totals for all natures of injury and illness are listed in 2-14.
Table 2-6 Most Frequent Nature of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (by Total Inj/Ill) FY2002
Nature of Illnesses & Injuries NO EXPLANATION STRAIN LACERATION CONTUSION ALL OTHER ALL OTHER CUMULATIVE INJURIES PUNCTURE FOREIGN BODY SPRAIN INFLAMMATION
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
11,233 8,608 7,705 4,868 4,410 2,277 2,453 2,210 1,839 1,772
2,391 2,521 1,070 884 1,143 620 231 346 627 345
1,921 1,114 1,429 625 320 534 359 427 291 308
11
1 7 13 1 2
15,556 12,243 10,204 6,378 5,880 3,444 3,044 2,983 2,759 2,425
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Body Member Associated with Occupational Injury and Illness
Table 2 lists the body member most frequently associated with reported occupational injuries and -7 illnesses for FY2002.
§ § §
Injuries and illnesses involving multiple body parts constitute the greatest number of total reported cases. In cases where a single body part is implicated a worker's finger were most often reported as the injured body member. Of cases involving fingers, just over 76 percent result in no lost time while only 10.7 percent percent require time away from work. In contrast, 68.4 percent of injuries involving the low back are "no time lost" cases while just under 22 percent result in time lost for the worker.
The aggregate totals for all body members associated with injury and illness are listed in 2-15.
37
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-7 Body Member Most Frequently Associated with Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (by Total Inj/Ill) FY2002
Body Member MULT. BODY PARTS FINGER(S) LOW BACK(LUMBAR,LUMBO-SACRAL) HAND KNEE EYE(S) MULT. UPPER EXTREMS. WRIST THUMB ANKLE
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
6,742 5,905 4,970 3,406 3,179 3,168 2,821 2,283 1,966 1,559
1,695 831 1,592 553 854 493 604 447 293 529
1,108 1,012 700 503 412 569 571 331 333 255
26
9,571 7,748 7,262 4,462 4,445 4,230 3,996 3,061 2,592 2,343
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Industries with Greatest Number of Total Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
Table 2-8 lists the industries in Kansas that reported the greatest number of total occupational injuries and illnesses to the Division of Workers Compensation over the past fiscal year.
§
§
§ §
The health services sector ranks first (of classifiable accidents) for FY2002, however, of the reported injuries and illnesses 79 percent were "no time lost" cases while only 12.5 percent constituted "time lost" cases. The educational services industry reported the second largest number of total injuries and illnesses and similar to health services some 89 percent were no lost time cases while only 12.4 percent resulted in an interruption in employment. The third ranked industry, state and local government, reported 3,866 total cases but had a slightly smaller percentage of "no time lost" injuries and illnesses (74 percent). Of the industries listed in Table 2-8 six- the public sector, health services, educational services, business services, eating and drinking places and general merchandising stores are service oriented and tend to be more labor intensive than traditional manufacturing. We would expect that more injuries and illnesses would be associated with industries employing large numbers of Kansans and the top six ranked industries for FY2002 seem to confirm this preliminary observation.
The aggregate totals for all industries are listed in Table 2-16.
38
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-8 Industries with Greatest Number of Total Occupational Injuries & Illnesses FY2002
Industry Nonclassifiable Establishments Health Services Educational Services Executive, Legislative, & General Government Food and Kindred Products Eating and Drinking Places Business Services Construction - Special Trade Contractors Motor Freight Transportation and Warehousing General Merchandise Stores
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
8,546 6,424 3,474 2,862 2,308 2,228 2,062 1,684 1,659 1,429
1,824 1,018 547 594 718 555 574 608 370 519
1,363 688 382 406 482 305 376 343 329 210
10
4 2 1 2 12 1
11,743 8,130 4,403 3,866 3,508 3,090 3,013 2,637 2,370 2,159
Table 2-9 Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Gender FY2002
Gender Female Male
No Designation No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
21,400 30,395 753
4,346 7,326 204
2,732 5,258 357
1 52
28,479 43,031 1,314
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Table 2-10 Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Age FY2002
Age Unknown 19 & Under 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80 & Above
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
43,020 605 2,396 2,416 2,379 1,340 336 51 5
9,289 164 725 633 636 331 86 18 2
2,015 349 1,657 1,620 1,592 886 198 18 4
40 2 3 1 4 3
54,364 1,118 4,780 4,672 4,608 2,561 623 87 11
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
39
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Age and Gender Characteristics of Injured Workers
Tables 2-9 and 2-10 list the age and gender characteristics of injured workers for FY2002
§ § § §
Men outnumber women for incidence of total occupational injuries and illnesses for FY2002 by 14,552 reported cases (see Table 2-9). However, as a percentage of total injuries men and women report a similar percentage of cases resulting in no lost time, 75 percent for women and 70 percent for men. The percentage of "time lost" cases for women numbered 15.3 percent while the percentage for men was slightly higher at 17 percent. Workers ages 20-29 (4,780) and 30-39 (4,672) report the greatest total number of injuries and illnesses to the Division of Workers Compensation for FY2002 (see Table 2-10). The 40-49 age stratum reported 4,608 injuries and illnesses, third most for the fiscal year. The largest category, unknown, reflects coding decisions made by the Division in response to an administrative backlog of accident reports at the point of entry to the database.
40
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-11 Location (County) of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Kansas County
ALLEN ANDERSON ATCHISON BARBER BARTON BOURBON BROWN BUTLER CHASE CHAUTAUQUA CHEROKEE CHEYENNE CLARK CLAY CLOUD COFFEY COMANCHE COWLEY CRAWFORD DECATUR DICKINSON DONIPHAN DOUGLAS EDWARDS ELK ELLIS ELLSWORTH FINNEY FORD FRANKLIN GEARY GOVE GRAHAM GRANT GRAY GREELEY GREENWOOD HAMILTON HARPER HARVEY HASKELL
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
314 84 433 77 471 349 250 709 27 30 212 19 61 145 163 172 25 760 774 55 450 85 1,627 53 46 576 178 795 864 401 736 58 45 100 52 25 94 46 145 553 66
52 27 67 31 108 84 24 177 4 19 46 9 12 37 38 27 9 160 144 15 92 38 404 10 8 107 32 269 183 104 182 11 12 22 22 8 29 11 38 148 18
29 13 66 15 63 65 16 101 2 6 46 4 8 12 36 21 11 115 122 10 55 14 239 13 1 79 13 176 139 81 106 7 4 30 14 6 20 11 31 117 15
1
1
2
1
1 3
1
1 2
395 124 566 123 643 498 290 988 33 55 306 32 81 195 237 220 45 1,036 1,043 80 597 137 2,270 76 55 762 224 1,240 1,186 587 1,026 76 61 152 88 39 143 68 214 818 99
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
41
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-11 continued Location (County) of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Kansas County
HODGEMAN JACKSON JEFFERSON JEWELL JOHNSON KEARNY KINGMAN KIOWA LABETTE LANE LEAVENWORTH LINCOLN LINN LOGAN LYON MARION MARSHALL MCPHERSON MEADE MIAMI MITCHELL MONTGOMERY MORRIS MORTON NEMAHA NEOSHO NESS NORTON OSAGE OSBORNE OTHER STATE OTTAWA PAWNEE PHILLIPS POTTAWATOMIE PRATT RAWLINS RENO REPUBLIC RICE
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
28 357 110 22 8,082 42 83 36 606 31 696 60 69 53 787 178 245 598 44 532 110 819 48 58 155 467 33 65 85 59 1016 64 200 38 247 199 28 1,251 75 119
5 53 34 13 1,583 8 21 8 121 15 188 14 35 13 337 34 38 132 11 130 28 187 14 8 27 86 8 34 20 14 283 24 49 23 48 45 10 293 17 37
7 36 14 1,104 11 14 6 94 10 86 8 6 7 161 25 29 101 8 44 10 141 9 11 13 44 8 16 14 17 184 7 25 12 28 20 1 179 10 20 6
1 1
1 2
6
1
40 446 158 35 10,775 61 118 50 821 56 970 82 110 73 1,285 237 312 832 64 706 148 1,147 71 78 195 599 49 115 119 90 1,489 95 274 73 323 265 39 1,723 102 176
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
42
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-11 continued Location (County) of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Kansas County
RILEY ROOKS RUSH RUSSELL SALINE SCOTT SEDGWICK SEWARD SHAWNEE SHERIDAN SHERMAN SMITH STAFFORD STANTON STEVENS SUMNER THOMAS TREGO UNKNOWN WABAUNSEE WALLACE WASHINGTON WICHITA WILSON WOODSON WYANDOTTE
No time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
1,128 126 89 112 1,584 89 8,619 630 4,071 22 112 73 47 27 68 281 172 38 1,600 42 15 72 53 249 47 3,262
260 18 12 21 307 23 2,096 140 733 9 19 15 18 7 21 55 48 14 312 12 3 17 11 55 8 756
148 15 5 19 217 19 1,694 130 517 10 11 7 12 9 12 55 24 11 403 8 5 7 4 39 1 493
1
1 1 9 2
2 1
5
1,537 159 106 153 2,109 131 12,418 900 5,323 41 142 95 77 43 101 391 244 63 2,317 62 24 96 68 343 56 4,516
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
43
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-12 Source of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Source of Injury & Illness
AIR PRESSURE AIRCRAFT ANIMAL PRODUCTS ANIMALS, INSECTS, ETC, UNS BLOOD BOAT OR SHIP BODILY MOTION BOILERS, PRESSURE VESSELS BOTTLES, JUGS, FLASKS, ETC BOXES, BARRELS, CONTAINERS, PACKAGES BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES (WALLS, FENCES) CERAMIC ITEMS (BRICK, CHINA, TILE ETC) CHEMICALS CLOTHING, APPAREL, SHOES COAL AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS COLD (ATMOSPHERIC, ENVIRONMENTAL) CONVEYERS DRUGS AND MEDICINES EARTHMOVING & HIWAY CONSTR. MACHINES ELECTRIC APPARATUS (HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE) FLAME, FIRE, SMOKE FLOOR FOOD PRODUCTS (COOKING OIL) FORKLIFTS, STACKERS (POWERED VEHICLES) FUMES - (GAS, PAINT) FURNITURE, FIXTURES, FURNISHINGS ETC GLASS ITEMS (FIBERGLASS, SEE ALSO 650) GROUND OUTDOORS HAND TOOLS, NOT POWERED HAND TOOLS, POWERED HANDTRUCKS,DOLLIES (NON POWERED VEHICLE) HEAT, ENVIRONMENTAL HEATING EQUIPMENT (FURNACES, STOVES ETC) HIGHWAY VEHICLES HOISTING APPARATUS ICE, SNOW INFECTIOUS, PARASITIC AGENTS (BACTERIA) KNIFE OR RAZOR LADDERS LIQUIDS (WATER, LIQUIDS NEC) MACHINES, UNS METAL CHIPS, SPLINTERS, PARTICLES METAL FASTENERS (BOLTS, NAILS, SCREWS) METAL ITEMS, UNS METAL PARTS (EXCEPT AUTO, UNASSEMBLED) MINERAL ITEMS (CLAY, SAND, GRAVEL STONE) MISCELLANEOUS (EARPLUGS, SHEETROCK ETC)
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
60 46 247 993 199 17 2,775 18 147 3,543 1,461 56 859 164 76 10 170 13 96 542 126 1,271 436 255 78 2,463 508 613 1,446 899 773 107 130 397 155 1,014 330 1,404 497 842 1,166 743 568 1,616 451 574 4,299
7 8 100 160 14 3 825 5 30 773 300 7 168 34 22 5 48 6 41 126 28 300 111 80 21 489 49 183 229 239 184 47 23 169 53 261 22 176 209 222 287 121 77 237 126 138 807
2 28 72 217 16 3 373 29 479 170 6 159 18 26 38 2 13 111 27 219 38 37 13 263 86 84 222 189 122 60 5 45 44 24 34 296 102 59 194 101 115 359 11 95 1,025
1
1
1 5
1
1
2 1
69 82 419 1,371 229 23 3,973 23 206 4,795 1,931 69 1,186 216 125 15 256 21 151 784 181 1,790 585 372 112 3,215 643 881 1,897 1,327 1,079 214 158 611 252 1,300 386 1,876 808 1,123 1,647 965 760 2,214 588 808 6,131
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
44
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-12 continued Source of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Source of Injury & Illness
MULTIPLE SOURCES OF INJURY NEEDLES NO EXPLANATION NOISE NONCLASSIFIABLE OFFICE MACHINES PALLETS, SKIDS PAPER AND PULP ITEMS PARTICLES - UNIDENTIFIED PERSON, INJURED (HEART FAILURE, MENTAL) PERSON, OTHER THAN INJURED PIPE AND FITTINGS PIT PLANT OR INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES PLANTS, TREES, VEGETATION PLASTIC ITEMS POTS, PANS, DISHES, TRAYS PRINTING MACHINES PUMPS & PRIME MOVERS (ENGINES, TURBINES) RADIATING SUBSTANCES (ISOTOPES,SUN,XRAY) RAIL VEHICLES (TRAIN) RAMPS RECREATION AND ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT ROOFS RUBBER PRODUCTS RUNWAYS, PLATFORMS SAWS (NOT HAND TOOLS) SCRAP, DEBRIS, WASTE MATERIALS (SLAG) SHEARS, SLITTERS, SLICERS SIDEWALKS, PATHS, WALKWAYS (OUTDOORS) STAIRS, STEPS INCLUDE ESCALATORS STEAM STITCHING, SEWING MACHINES STREET, ROAD TEXTILE ITEMS UNUSED VEHICLES, UNS WOOD ITEMS WOOD ITEMS, NEC
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
1,132 1,010 1,358 59 186 670 476 252 907 1,368 4,283 322 108 87 523 151 388 16 111 17 27 80 180 45 394 79 93 271 385 396 793 71 26 37 53 1 1,037 354 149
194 31 1,084 5 59 83 122 40 66 363 722 97 52 23 99 33 70 6 26 5 6 21 35 15 92 21 37 69 62 98 211 10 5 12 21 2 274 106 29
258 93 312 8 4 64 77 36 249 223 463 67 12 24 77 16 31 1 20 2 1 9 15 14 55 17 13 23 63 49 121 13
1
26 2 1
2 1 1 1
2 1 217 57 9
5
1,584 1,134 2,755 72 249 817 675 328 1,222 1,980 5,470 487 172 134 699 200 489 23 157 24 36 111 230 75 542 117 143 363 510 543 1,125 94 31 49 76 4 1,533 517 187
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
45
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-13 Cause of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Cause of Injuries & Illnesses
ACID CHEMICALS ANIMAL OR INSECT BODILY REACTION (IMPOSED STRESS/STRAIN) BROKEN GLASS BURN OR SCALD(HEAT/COLD EXPOSURE) CAUGHT IN OR BETWEEN MISCELLANEOUS COLLISION WITH A FIXED OBJECT COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE CONTACT WITH ELECTRIC CURRENT CONTACT WITH HOT OBJECT CUMULATIVE INJURY (NOT CLASSIFIED) CUT, PUNCTURE, SCRAPE INJURED BY MISC DUST, GASES, FUMES OR VAPORS EXPLOSION OR FLARE BACK FALL OR SLIP INJURY MISCELLANEOUS FALL, ON STAIRS FALL, ONTO OR AGAINST OBJECTS FALL, SAME LEVEL FALL, SLIP OR TRIP INJURY ON STAIRS FALL, SLIP, OR TRIP INJURY ON ICE/SNOW FALLING OR FLYING OBJECT FIRE OR FLAME FOREIGN BODY IN EYE FROM DIFFERENT LEVEL FROM LIQUID OR GREASE SPILLS HAND TOOL OR MACHINE IN USE HAND TOOL, UTENSIL; NOT POWERED HOLDING OR CARRYING JUMPING LADDER OR SCAFFOLDING LIFTING LIFTING OBJECTS (LIFTING, PULLING, LOADING) MACHINE OR MACHINERY MOTOR VEHICLE MOTOR VEHICLE MISCELLANEOUS MOVING PARTS OF MACHINE MULTIPLE CAUSES OF INJURY NO EXPLANATION NONCLASSIFIABLE - UNKNOWN OBJECT BEING LIFTED OR HANDLED OBJECT HANDLED OBJECT HANDLED BY OTHERS ON SAME LEVEL OTHER INJURY (NOT OTHERWISE CLASSIFIED) POWERED HAND TOOL, APPLIANCE PUSHING OR PULLING RADIATION
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
290 703 351 710 1,318 45 474 93 337 1,490 2,045 291 16 1,243 6 1 5 7 1,815 58 2,373 1,244 1,269 344 2,477 735 137 297 5,748 1 391 67 153 168 3 323 1 3,179 413 300 3,214 4,959 549 2,064 9
79 118 1 40 101 236 10 155 20 62 326 269 40 14 416 1
84 188 62 141 205 10 116 18 34 365 184 32 8 168
1
9 5 1
3 6 432 20 352 486 358 83 308 223 62 153 1,676 121 26 53 50 97 50 587 81 55 733 919 180 525 1
2 295 18 417 191 137 55 480 70 31 58 773 93 10 19 16 5 3 620 53 34 467 874 145 305 1
2
1
1 1
3
22
453 1,009 1 453 953 1,759 65 754 136 433 2,182 2,498 363 38 1,827 1 6 1 10 13 2,543 96 3,142 1,923 1,764 482 3,265 1,029 230 508 8,197 1 605 104 226 234 3 425 54 4,389 547 389 4,414 6,774 874 2,894 10
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
46
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-13 continued Cause of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Cause of Injuries & Illnesses
REACHING REPETITIVE MOTION ROBBERY OR CRIMINAL ASSAULT SANDING, SCRAPING, CLEANING OPERATIONS SLIPPED, DID NOT FALL STATIONARY OBJECT STEAM OR HOT FLUIDS STEPPING ON SHARP OBJECT STRAIN OR INJURY BY MISCELLANEOUS STRIKING AGAINST/STEPPING ON MISC STRUCK AGAINST (STEPPING ON OBJECTS) STRUCK BY OR INJURED BY MISC TEMPERATURE EXTREMES USING TOOL OR MACHINE VEHICLE UPSET WELDING OPERATIONS
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
482 2,389 190 129 649 1,568 366 120 1,427 801 5 2,008 109 352 126 111
115 500 37 11 144 247 67 14 502 180 281 27 121 71 31
65 269 9 49 72 184 47 20 261 190 1 236 50 39 45 24
1
1 4
662 3,158 237 189 865 1,999 480 154 2,190 1,171 6 2,525 186 513 246 166
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Table 2-14 Nature of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Nature of Illnesses & Injuries
AIDS ALL OTHER ALL OTHER CUMULATIVE INJURIES ALL OTHER OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE AMPUTATION ANGINA PECTORIS (COND. ASSOC. WITH HEART DISEASE) ASBESTOSIS ASPHYXIATION BLACK LUNG BURN BYSSINOSIS CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME CONCUSSION CONTAGIOUS DISEASE CONTUSION CRUSHING DERMATITIS DERMATITIS - CEMENT, RUBBER, POISON IVY DISLOCATION DUST DISEASE NOC (ALL OTHER PNEUMOCONIOSIS) ELECTRIC SHOCK
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
2 4,410 2,277 58 37 17 8 1 1,232 12 512 77 65 4,868 341 480 164 5 70
1 1,143 620 7 37 1 7 1 277 100 36 11 884 103 75 1 74 16
2 320 534 1 25 5
7 13
180 7 33 24 15 625 41 82 31 11
1
1
5
5 5,880 3,444 66 99 6 17 15 2 1,689 20 645 137 91 6,378 485 637 1 269 5 102
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
47
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-14 continued Nature of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Nature of Illnesses & Injuries
ENUCLEATION (TO REMOVE, EX: TUMOR, EYE, ETC.) FOREIGN BODY FRACTURE FREEZING HEARING LOSS (TRAUMATIC ONLY) HEART CONDITIONS (HEART ATTACK) HEAT PROSTRATION HERNIA INFECTION INFLAMMATION LACERATION LOSS OF HEARING MENTAL DISORDER MENTAL STRESS MULTIPLE INJURIES MULTIPLE TYPES OF INJURY MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (HEART ATTACK) NO EXPLANATION NO INJURY OR ILLNESS NONCLASSIFIABLE OTHER INJURIES POISONING-CHEMICAL POISONING-METAL PUNCTURE RADIATION RESPIRATORY DISORDERS (GASES,FUMES,CHEMICALS,ETC) RUPTURE SEVERANCE SPRAIN SPRAINS, STRAINS STRAIN VASCULAR LOSS VDT-RELATED DISEASE VISION LOSS
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
7 2,210 1,066 6 45 1 94 180 109 1,772 7,705 10 4 19 133 11 11,233 1 3 2 37 2,453 6 287 33 25 1,839 2 8,608 2 7
346 555 1 4 48 106 31 345 1,070 2 2 10 1 68 9 2,391 1 6 231 63 22 16 627 2,521 3 3
427 288 4 45 44 37 308 1,429 3 2 5 39 17 1,921 1 1 5 1 359 42 16 7 291 1,114 3 1 1 1 11 11
1
2
7 2,983 1,909 7 53 1 187 330 177 2,425 10,204 15 8 34 1 241 48 15,556 1 5 3 48 1 3,044 6 392 71 48 2,759 2 12,243 8 1 11
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
48
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-15 Body Member Reported in Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Body Member
ANKLE BODY PARTS, NEC BRAIN CHEST(INC:RIBS, STERNUM) DISC EAR(S) ELBOW EYE(S) FACIAL BONES FINGER(S) FOOT HAND HEART HIP INTERNAL ORGANS KNEE LARYNX LOW BACK(LUMBAR,LUMBO-SACRAL) LOWER ARM LOWER LEG MOUTH MULT. INJURY MULT. UPPER EXTREMS. MULT. BODY PARTS MULT. HEAD INJURY MULT. LOWER EXTREMS. MULT. MEMBERS INJURED MULTIPLE TRUNK NECK NO EXPLANATION NO PHYSICAL INJURY NONCLASSIFIABLE-UNKNOWN NOSE OTHER FACIAL SOFT TISSUE PELVIS SACRUM AND COCCYX SHOULDER(S) SKULL SOFT TISSUE SPINAL CORD TEETH THIGH THUMB TOE(S) TRACHEA UPPER ARM UPPER BACK AREA VERTEBRAE WRIST
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
1,559 1 14 658 45 211 1,055 3,168 76 5,905 1,356 3,406 20 340 174 3,179 6 4,970 1,311 601 178 112 2,821 6,742 460 1,542 1 1,227 1 1,302 2 142 667 53 34 1,404 902 311 13 166 191 1,966 365 9 1,236 356 7 2,283
529 3 190 15 22 213 493 14 831 353 553 9 72 77 854 2 1,592 218 149 19 33 604 1,695 121 394 468 1 225 3 20 16 85 30 17 405 163 59 7 18 55 293 92 4 291 119 3 447
255 3 130 8 25 174 569 8 1,012 214 503 14 54 37 412 1 700 230 104 23 25 571 1,108 62 310 205 182 3 30 108 4 8 34 147 52 2 21 23 333 62 1 216 31 2 331 11
1
12
26 2
1
2,343 1 20 979 68 258 1,442 4,230 98 7,748 1,923 4,462 55 466 288 4,445 9 7,262 1,759 854 220 170 3,996 9,571 643 2,248 1 1,900 2 1,720 3 25 188 860 87 59 1,843 1,213 422 22 205 269 2,592 519 14 1,743 506 12 3,061
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
49
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-16 Industries Reporting Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Industry
Administration of Economic Programs Administration of Environmental Quality and Housing Programs Administration of Human Resource Programs Agricultural Production-Crops Agricultural Production-Livestock and Animal Specialties Agricultural Services Amusement and Recreation Services Apparel and Accessory Stores Apparel and Other Finished Products Made From Fabrics and Similar Materials Automotive Dealers and Gasoline Service Stations Automotive Repair, Services, and Parking Building Construction - General Contractors and Operative Builder Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply, and Mobile Home Dealers Business Services Chemicals and Allied Products Coal Mining Communications Construction - Special Trade Contractors Depository Institutions Eating and Drinking Places Educational Services Electric, Gas, and Sanitary Services Electronic and Other Electrical Equipment and Components, Except Comp Equip Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management, and Related Services Executive, Legislative, and General Government, Except Finance Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery and Transportation Equipment Fishing, Hunting, And Trapping Food and Kindred Products Food Stores Forestry Furniture and Fixtures General Merchandise Stores Health Services Heavy Construction Other Than Building Construction - Contractors Holding and Other Investment Offices Home Furniture, Furnishings, and Equipment Stores Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps, and Other Lodging Places Industrial and Commercial Machinery and Computer Equipment Insurance Agents, Brokers, and Service Insurance Carriers Justice, Public Order, and Safety Leather and Leather Products Legal Services Local and Suburban Transit and Interurban Highway Passenger Transportation Lumber and Wood Products, Except Furniture Measuring, Analyzing, and Controlling Instruments; Photographic, Medical etc. Membership Organizations Mining and Quarrying of Nonmetallic Minerals, Except Fuels
No Time Lost
Time Lost
Hospitalized
Fatal
Total Inj/Ill
18 30 26 36 218 278 534 140 58 1,205 314 918 375 2,062 181 8 260 1,684 134 2,228 3,474 679 316 218 2,862 659 3 2,308 1,408 3 130 1,429 6,424 386 24 216 247 1,182 69 160 70 5 31 50 285 107 207 41
4 4 8 7 78 78 69 31 15 202 84 276 80 574 31 49 608 16 555 547 102 63 40 594 125 1 718 304 32 519 1,018 119 4 61 68 215 9 23 25 7 18 98 9 51 9
3 4 4 16 62 66 46 13 10 183 51 159 61 376 45 1 27 343 17 305 382 83 45 31 406 162 3 482 208 10 210 688 114 2 34 28 177 4 17 11 10 11 61 15 54 8
1
1
1 1
2 2 2
4
1
1 1
1
1
1
25 38 38 59 359 422 649 184 83 1,591 449 1,353 517 3,013 257 9 336 2,637 167 3,090 4,403 866 424 289 3,866 946 7 3,508 1,921 3 172 2,159 8,130 620 30 311 343 1,575 82 200 107 5 48 79 444 131 312 59
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
50
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-16 continued
Industries Reporting Occupational Injuries & Illnesses by Severity FY2002
Industry
Miscellaneous Manufacturing Industries Miscellaneous Repair Services Miscellaneous Retail Motion Pictures Motor Freight Transportation and Warehousing Museums, Art Galleries, and Botanical and Zoological Gardens Nonclassifiable Establishments Nondepository Credit Institutions Oil and Gas Extraction Paper and Allied Products Personal Services Petroleum Refining and Related Industries Pipelines, Except Natural Gas Primary Metal Industries Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries Private Households Public Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy Railroad Transportation Real Estate Rubber and Miscellaneous Plastics Products Security and Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges, and Services Services, Not Elsewhere Classified Social Services Stone, Clay, Glass, and Concrete Products Textile Mill Products Tobacco Products Transportation by Air Transportation Equipment Transportation Services United States Postal Service Unknown Water Transportation Wholesale Trade - Durable Goods Wholesale Trade - Nondurable Goods
No Time Lost
Time Lost
Hospitalized
Fatal
Total Inj/Ill
138 170 614 75 1,659 13 8,546 18 230 241 146 79 11 319 616 38 3 2 373 385 27 141 1,145 307 39 3 120 964 92 1 27 4 1,303 999
42 47 105 11 370 3 1,824 3 84 42 45 19 1 32 124 5 1 75 84 7 33 207 76 8 37 436 11 3 2 272 319
28 28 80 3 329 1 1,363 3 66 35 24 8 2 62 115 10
12 10 4
46 66 1 24 178 82 5 17 291 7 2 8 1 247 167
1
2 1
1 2
208 245 799 89 2,370 17 11,743 24 384 318 215 106 14 413 855 53 3 3 495 535 35 198 1,530 465 52 3 174 1,693 111 6 37 5 1,823 1,487
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
51
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Kansas Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates
Statewide Non-Federal Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rate
There are two sources of occupational injury and illness data reported in this section. The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses is a Federal/State program administered by the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and cooperating state agencies throughout the nation. In Kansas the cooperating state agency that helps administer the survey is the Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The annual survey measures the incidence rates of workplace injuries and illnesses for the nation as a whole, for each participating state, as well as case and injured worker demographic data (see Appendix A). The Division of Workers Compensation does not directly participate in the BLS survey but is an active consumer of its information. The Division believes that the private sector incidence rates provided by BLS and KDHE help augment both our annual report and our statutory obligation to monitor the workplace injuries and illnesses in the state for health and safety purposes. However, the Division does believe that it can contribute to the discourse on workplace injury incidence rates in Kansas for several reasons. First, employers covered under the Workers Compensation Act are required to report all employee occupational injuries and illnesses to the Division within 28 days of the date of injury or onset of illness. The Division has aggregated and reported this data in its annual statistical report for many years but has never published its calculated rates of incidence per 100 full-time equivalent employees until FY2001. For only the second time, we report our own calculated occupational injury incidence rates (see Appendix A for methodology). Second, the Division does have an institutional advantage (relative to BLS and KDHE) in that it, by law, is able to collect data on the entire population of workplace injuries and illnesses in Kansas because it has the legal authority to collect injury data on state and local public sector employees in addition to the private sector.1 This is important because the state and local public sector workforce is one of the largest employers in Kansas and reports a significant percentage of the total workplace injurie s and illnesses each year. Finally, it should be noted that the Division of Workers Compensation is able to publish its occupational injury statistics in a timelier manner than both BLS and KDHE. In this report we publish incidence rates for all employers covered under the Workers Compensation Act through fiscal year 2002 (up to and including June 30, 2002) whereas the most recent data available from BLS is through calendar year 2000 (as of time of printing) and from KDHE through calendar year 2000. We may be able to identify injury and illness trends more quickly and use this in-house information as a basis for targeting resources, through our Industrial Safety and Health Section, for injury prevention and/or safety education. While it is true that there is no absolute acceptable level of injury incidence, relatively speaking, the lower the rate of injury the better. An important question is how should the average Kansan interpret the "Total Injuries and Illnesses" incidence rate? For example, if the incidence rate for total injuries and illnesses for
1
Under its commerce power granted by the Federal Constitution, and as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court (See U.S. v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 558-559 (1995); "three broad categories of activity that Congress may regulate under its commerce power...Congress may regulate the use of the channels of interstate commerce...Congress is empowered to regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities...Congress' commerce authority includes the power to regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce,...i.e., those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce."), the federal government can require employers to log all occupational injuries and illnesses and report them to BLS and/or OSHA. The Federal Constitution, however, does not give Congress the authority to regulate the states (and its political subdivisions) as states and therefore, compel them to report the workplace injuries of state and local public servants to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
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2002
Kansas for any given year were 5.3 injuries per 100 full-time workers would it be reasonable to conclude that roughly 5 percent of full-time workers suffered some sort of occupational injury that year? We believe that this would be a fair interpretation provided that we assume each worker within this 5.3 percent was injured only once during the year under study. In other words, for every one hundred fulltime private sector workers in Kansas there were 5.3 injuries reported that year for our hypothetical example. If consumers of this information would want to know what occupations in Kansas are more at risk for injury than others then the total injury and illness incidence rate would not provide that information. They would need to consult the industry cluster estimates of injury incidence provided annually by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment or the non-federal incidence rates reported in the Kansas Division of Workers Compensation Annual Statistical Report. The BLS measures of "Total Lost Workday Cases" and "Cases Without Lost Workdays" are similar to measures reported by the Division of Workers Compensation in past annual statistical reports (See below). Under the Kansas Workers Compensation Act, employers are required to report to the Division:
[I]f the personal injuries which are sustained by such accidents, are sufficient wholly or partially to incapacitate the person injured from labor or service for more than the remainder of the day, shift or turn on which such injuries were sustained.2
The Division classifies nonfatal occupational injuries as "lost time," "no lost time," and "hospitalized." "Lost time" injuries are those that "incapacitate the person injured from labor or service for more than the remainder of the day, shift or turn." "No lost time" injuries are defined as those in which the employee did not miss work beyond the remainder of the day, shift or turn. Injuries requiring hospitalization are self-explanatory. All of the Division's severity classifications are similar to the BLS variables in the Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Survey and are broad enough to describe the diversity of injuries within each category yet specific enough to discern substantive differences in severity (see explanation below). "Total Lost Workday Cases" injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers is a statistic used to measure the incidence of injuries that meet the criterion of "lost workday." However, a year-to-year comparison between the BLS study and the Division's data is difficult due to both the time lag in reporting by BLS/KDHE and the differing time frames of the studies. Table 2-17 lists the Kansas non-fatal occupational injury and illness rate for the last eleven fiscal years (FY1992-FY2002) as calculated by the Division of Workers Compensation. 3 See Figures 2-1 below for graphical representations of the data as well.
§
§
For "total injuries and illnesses" the incidence per 100 full-time equivalent workers (FTE hereafter) in the private and non-federal public sectors was 8.42 in FY1992. The incidence rate rose slightly to near 9 injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE for the next two years (8.97 in FY1993 and 8.78 in FY1994) and has slowly declined every year since FY1995 to the rate of 5.45 total injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE in FY2002. Since the ten-year peak of 8.97 injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE in FY1993 the incidence rate has dropped 39 percent, or 3.52 injuries per 100 FTE. The "time lost" injuries and illnesses incidence rate was 3.58 per 100 FTE in FY1992 and rose above 4 per 100 FTE from FY1993 and FY1994. The time lost rate dropped to 2.04 per 100 FTE in FY1996 and has been below two injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE ever since, a decrease of 79 percent from the peak rate in FY1993 (4.17) to the current rate for FY2002 (0.89).
2 3
K.S.A.44-557. As stated previously, the Division has re-calculated the incidence rates published in last year's annual statistical report due to the purging of duplicate records from its database and by calculating injuries per year based upon accident date rather than processing date.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
§
The "no time lost" injuries and illnesses incidence rate has been consistently between the range of 6.02 and 4.51 per 100 FTE for the past nine fiscal years until it dropped to 3.93 for FY2002. This represents a decrease in the rate of time lost injuries by 34.7 percent from the peak rate of 6.02 in FY1997.
Table 2-17 Kansas Non-Fatal Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* FY1992-FY2002
Year Total Injuries & Illnesses* No Time Lost Illnesses & Injuries* Time Lost Injuries & Illnesses* Injuries & Illnesses Requiring Hospitalization*
FY1992 FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
8.42 8.97 8.78 8.19 8.08 8.01 7.82 7.39 6.88 6.42 5.45
4.66 4.59 4.51 4.54 5.80 6.02 4.99 5.33 5.45 4.87 3.93
3.58 4.17 4.07 3.42 2.04 1.45 0.55 0.51 1.17 1.27 0.89
0.18 0.20 0.20 0.22 0.24 0.54 2.27 1.55 0.25 0.27 0.63
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services
*Per 100 Full-time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
10.00 9.00 Incidence Per 100 FTE 8.00 7.00 6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00
Figure 2-1 Rate of Occupational Injury & Illness Per 100 FTE by Severity FY1992-FY2002
8.97 8.42 8.78 8.19 8.08 8.01 7.82 7.39 6.88 5.45 4.87 3.93 2.04 1.45 0.55
FY 19 94 FY 19 97 FY 19 93 FY 19 98
5.80 4.46 3.58 4.59 4.17 4.51 4.07 4.54 3.42
6.02 4.99 5.33
6.42 5.45
1.17 0.51
FY 20 01
1.27
0.89
Total inj/ill
Year No time lost
Time lost
54
FY 20 02
FY 19 95
FY 19 99
FY 19 92
FY 19 96
FY 20 00
Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Statewide Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in the Private Sector
BLS defines a lost workday as "the number of workdays (consecutive or not) beyond the day of injury or onset of illness." This number includes both actual days away from work and employees assigned, due to the injury or illness, to restricted work a ctivity 4 and is a proxy for measuring the severity of injury incurred by the employee. Its logical counterpart is "Cases Without Lost Workday Cases" which is defined as the obverse of injury resulting in time away from work or restricted work activity. It too is a proxy for measuring severity and would include any injury incurred that did not result in lost workdays or restricted activity. For example, if a Kansas employee were to cut their finger while preparing food and did not return for the rest of t e day (presumably to receive medical treatment) but did return the h following scheduled workday they would be designated as a "Case Without Lost Workday." In other words, no time is lost beyond the day of injury or onset of illness. BLS reported an inci ence rate of 9.8 d injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers for Kansas in 1994. That incidence rate dropped to a sixyear low of 7.8 injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in 2000, the most recent year of the survey (See Table 2-18). Below are findings from their survey research that are good comparative data for the Division's published incidence rates.
§
§
§
§
§
§
The "Total Injuries and Illnesses" incidence rate (See Table 2-18) for the private sector in Kansas reveals a decrease in the frequency of occupational injury and illness every successive year except for a slight spike in 2000 (up from 7.6 to 7.8). This is consistent with the national trend (yearly declines for every year however) in "Total Injury and Illness" incidence rates but Kansas still has a higher frequency of injuries than the national average for every year of the study. The "Total Lost Workday Cases" incidence rate for Kansas declines or remains level from 1994 (4.2 per 100 workers) to 2000 (3.3 per 100 workers). The Kansas numbers are slightly higher than the national average for each of the seven years, which also has declined or remained constant every year as well to a low of 3.0 lost workday injuries per 100 full-time workers. The "Lost Workday Cases with Days Away from Work" incidence rate for the Kansas private sector has dropped from 2.7 injuries and illnesses per 100 workers in 1994 to 1.7 per 100 workers in 2000. This trend in injuries resulting in days away from work mirrors rather closely what is occurring at the national level and is a good sign that the severity of the Kansas injuries are no greater than the national average. The "Cases Without Lost Workdays" incidence rate in Kansas declined from 5.6 injuries per 100 workers (1994) to 4 per 100 workers in 1999 and then increased to 4.4 in year 2000. Kansas has higher than average (national) rates for cases without lost workdays for every year of the study indicating that a greater percentage of the state's total injuries and illnesses do not result in days away from work or restricted work activity. In other words, Kansas has a greater frequency of the less severe type of occupational injuries and illnesses. The Kansas "Total Injuries and Illnesses" rate is down by 2.0 injuries and illnesses per 100 workers for the period 1994-2000, a relative change of 20 percent. Similarly, the national average for total injuries has decreased by 2.3 injuries and illnesses per 100 workers, or 27 percent. "Total Lost Workday Cases" in Kansas has declined by 0.9 injuries and illnesses per 100 workers or 21 percent while the national average for the same incidence rate is down 0.8 injuries and illnesses or 21 percent as well.
4
Restricted work activity includes assigning an employee to another job on a temporary basis, less than full-time employment or a reduction in duties for the position of which the injury occurred.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
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2002
§
§
Kansas "Lost Workday Cases with Days Away from Work" has remained fairly steady over the six-year period declining by 1.0 injuries and illnesses per 100 workers. The national average for days away from work injuries and illnesses declined by the same amount over this period as well. Finally, "Cases Without Lost Workdays" in Kansas are down by 1.2 in juries and illnesses per 100 workers from 1994 (relative decline of 21 percent) and the nation as a whole experienced a similar decline (1.4).
Table 2-18 BLS Survey of Kansas Private Sector Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* 1994-2000
Total Injuries & Illnesses* Total Lost Workday Cases* Year National Rate Kansas Rate National Rate Kansas Rate Lost Workday Cases with Days Away from Work* National Rate Kansas Rate Cases Without Lost Workdays* National Rate Kansas Rate
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
8.4 8.1 7.4 7.1 6.7 6.3 6.1
9.8 9.7 8.9 8.6 8.5 7.6 7.8
3.8 3.6 3.4 3.3 3.1 3 3
4.2 4.2 4 4 3.7 3.6 3.3
2.8 2.5 2.2 2.1 2 1.9 1.8
2.7 2.5 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.7
4.6 4.4 4.1 3.8 3.5 3.3 3.2
5.6 5.5 4.9 4.6 4.8 4 4.4
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor
*Per 100 Full-time Equivalent Private Sector Workers
The Kansas Industrial Sector Incidence Rate FY1993-FY2002
For the first time this year the Division is publishing its calculated incidence rates by industrial sector for the past ten fiscal years. The industrial sectors (or in the language of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)5 system Divisions B-J) include; mining; construction; manufacturing; transportations, communications, electric, gas and sanitary services; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance, insurance and real estate; services; and finally, public administration in the State of Kansas for FY1993-FY2002. § § § The construction sector had the highest rate of relative change, with a decrease in total injuries and illnesses of approximately 55.4 percent. The transportation, communications, and utilities sector reported the second highest relative change rate, with a decrease in total injuries and illnesses between FY1993 and FY2002 of approximately 51.14 percent. With the exception of the public administration sector, whose incidence rates are very low in general, all of the industrial sectors show substantial relative change in incidence rates, decreases between 37.69 percent and 55.4 percent. The total incidence rates for the public administration sector decreased by approximately 9.91 percent.
5
Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Standard Industrial Classification Manual (Indianapolis, IN: JIST Works Inc., 1987).
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
§ § § § § §
The construction sector went from having the highest rate of total injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE in FY1993 at 15.86 to having the second highest in FY2002 with a rate of 7.07. The manufacturing sector reported the highest rate of total injuries and illnesses in 2002 with 7.49 per 100 FTE while the lowest incidence rate, 1.56 per 100 FTE, was found in the finance, insurance, and real estate sector. Construction reported the highest "no time lost" incidence rate in FY2002 with 4.59 injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE, while the services industrial sector had the second highest rate; 4.50 per 100 FTE. The construction sector reported the highest incidence rate of "time lost" injuries and illnesses in FY2002 with 1.54 per 100 FTE. The second highest rate of "time lost" injuries for FY2002 was 1.29 injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE, reported by the mining sector. The highest fatality rates are found in FY1998 and FY2000 in the mining sector at approximately 0.075 total injuries and illnesses per 100 FTE.
Table 2-19 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Wholesale Trade Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill
3.42 3.31 3.14 4.25 4.93 3.99 4.17 4.16 3.84 3.14
3.72 3.45 2.96 1.79 1.33 0.51 0.49 1.10 1.33 0.81
0.21 0.19 0.24 0.20 0.48 2.12 1.40 0.19 0.19 0.56
0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00
7.37 6.96 6.34 6.24 6.74 6.63 6.07 5.46 5.36 4.51
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-20 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Mining Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill.
4.92 4.70 4.46 6.36 6.47 4.96 5.34 5.43 5.08 3.82
5.75 5.90 4.48 3.29 2.06 0.69 0.42 1.87 1.85 1.29
0.54 0.57 0.67 0.71 1.38 2.81 2.16 0.40 0.63 1.01
0.03 0.02 0.05 0.05 0.02 0.08 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.07
11.25 11.20 9.66 10.42 9.93 8.54 7.92 7.78 7.56 6.18
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
Table 2-21 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Construction Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill.
7.37 6.77 6.43 8.03 8.14 6.59 6.99 7.17 6.24 4.59
7.83 7.85 6.15 3.52 2.40 0.59 0.48 2.09 2.11 1.54
0.65 0.62 0.67 0.55 1.16 3.91 2.66 0.49 0.44 0.95
0.02 0.02 0.04 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.00
15.86 15.25 13.29 12.12 11.72 11.11 10.15 9.77 8.80 7.07
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-22 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Manufacturing Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill.
6.25 6.15 6.13 7.08 7.04 5.38 5.53 6.13 5.11 4.11
4.98 4.92 4.39 2.98 1.83 1.02 1.19 1.74 1.79 1.07
0.15 0.19 0.19 0.28 0.57 2.80 2.08 0.47 0.46 0.84
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
13.99 14.15 13.49 13.08 12.03 11.92 11.26 10.42 9.23 7.49
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
Table 2-23 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill.
3.80 3.76 4.19 6.14 6.18 4.97 4.96 4.74 3.91 3.21
5.01 4.66 3.53 1.78 1.15 0.33 0.38 0.86 1.52 0.66
0.22 0.20 0.22 0.22 0.43 1.86 1.36 0.17 0.19 0.53
0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02
9.05 8.63 7.95 8.15 7.78 7.17 6.72 5.80 5.61 4.42
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-24 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Retail Trade Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill.
3.73 3.81 3.99 4.96 5.00 3.97 4.27 4.31 3.61 3.14
3.23 3.14 2.69 1.66 1.36 0.75 0.50 0.95 1.30 0.77
0.16 0.17 0.18 0.17 0.48 1.71 1.07 0.25 0.22 0.45
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
7.12 7.12 6.85 6.79 6.84 6.43 5.84 5.50 5.13 4.36
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
Table 2-25 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill.
1.59 1.38 1.41 1.81 2.05 1.75 1.56 1.61 1.60 1.21
1.27 1.24 0.98 0.50 0.36 0.10 0.11 0.31 0.32 0.21
0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.14 0.66 0.41 0.04 0.06 0.14
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
2.92 2.68 2.45 2.36 2.55 2.52 2.08 1.96 1.98 1.56
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 2-26 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Services Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill.
4.91 4.63 4.49 6.12 6.42 5.23 5.87 6.03 5.53 4.50
4.26 4.06 3.35 1.78 1.22 0.39 0.38 0.97 0.96 0.83
0.15 0.18 0.20 0.22 0.74 2.19 1.34 0.17 0.27 0.48
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
9.02 8.48 7.75 7.70 7.78 7.57 7.45 6.90 6.41 5.62
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
Table 2-27 Occupational Injury & Illness Incidence Rate* for Kansas Public Administration Sector FY1993-FY2002
Year FY1993 FY1994 FY1995 FY1996 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002
No Time Lost Time Lost Hospitalized Fatal Total Inj/Ill.
0.93 0.94 0.88 1.26 1.25 1.15 1.31 1.15 1.20 1.20
0.83 0.88 0.69 0.42 0.27 0.09 0.05 0.23 0.21 0.25
0.05 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.15 0.61 0.41 0.05 0.05 0.17
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1.81 1.87 1.64 1.74 1.68 1.85 1.78 1.43 1.46 1.63
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation, Kansas Labor Market Information Services *Per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Non-Federal Workers
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Section 3
Workers Compensation Claims Statistics
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
The Kansas Workers Compensation Fund
The Workers Compensation Fund is a guaranty fund that operates as a payer of last resort for injured workers in the state of Kansas. The fund is administered by the Commissioner of Insurance through the Kansas Insurance Department and makes workers compensation payments "[i]f an employer has no insurance to secure payment of compensation...and such employer is financially unable to pay compensation to an injured worker as required by the workers compensation act, or such employer cannot be located and required to pay such compensation."1 Tables 3 -1, 3-2 and 3-3 lists the Workers Compensation Fund caseload, expenditures and receipts for FY2000-FY2002.
Table 3-1 Workers Compensation Fund Case Load Scheduled
Total Number of Impleading Total Number of Closed Cases
Source: Kansas Insurance Department
FY2002 125 258
FY2001 112 292
FY2000 144 838
Table 3-2 Workers Compensation Fund Expenditures Analysis
FY2002 % of Total FY2001 % of Total FY2000 % of Total
Disability Compensation $1,743,881 Work Assessment $2,631 Medical $1,272,118 Reimbursement to Insurance Companies [K.S.A. 44-569(a) & K.S.A.44-569]; lump sum and medical may be included $876,891 Attorney Fees $285,564 Court Costs, Deposition, Medical Reports, etc $51,883 Refunds 0 Other Operating Expense $324,308 Total Expenditures $ 4,557,276 Source: Kansas Insurance Department
38.27 .06 27.91
$2,459,939 $23,302 $631,814
44.8 0.4 11.5
$3,480,211 $28,445 $600,249
44.4 0.4 7.6
19.24 6.27 1.14 0 7.11 100.0
$1,630,703 $322,011 $42,277 $0 $370,565 $5,480,611
29.8 5.9 0.8 0.0 6.8 100.0
$2,812,607 $432,706 $66,826 $0 $417,621 $7,838,665
35.9 5.5 0.9 0.0 5.3 100.0
1
K.S.A. 44-532a.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 3-3 Workers Compensation Fund Receipts Analysis
FY2002 % of Total FY2001 % of Total FY2000 % of Total
$398,206 Assessment Receipts Non-Dependent Death Receipt* $0 $189,811 Misc. Reimbursements Fines & Penalties $57,877 ($7,000,000) Transfer to State General Fund (Senate Bill 363, Sec. 32 (b)) ($6,354,105) Total Receipts Previous Year Carryover Balance $23,703,442 $22,703.00 Cancelled Checks Total Funds Available $17,372,039 Source: Kansas Insurance Department *Non-Dependent death prior to 5-99
2.29 0.0 1.09 .33 (40.29) (36.58) 136.45 .13 100.0
$3,163,438 $0 $72,200 $67,075
10.8 0.0 0.1 0.1
$9,073,818 $0 $306,162 $0
26.9 0.0 0.9 0.0
$3,302,713 $25,881,340 $84,360.82 $29,268,414
11.0 88.9 0.1 100.0
$9,379,980 $24,340,025 $58,257 $33,778,262
27.8 72.0 0.2 100.0
Workers Compensation Insurance Experience
The Kansas Insurance Department reports that the total direct paid losses for calendar year 2001 was $190,426,537, an increase of $20,598 from the previous year (See Table 3-4 below). However, total paid losses has risen every year for the past four years but is still well below the 22-year peak of $243,751,957 in 1991. Direct losses incurred for 2001 were $237,335,832, an increase of $78,109,484 from the previous year, or a relative change of 49 percent. The losses paid to premiums earned ratio, as calculated by the Insurance Department, was 65.3 while the losses incurred to premiums written ratio was 88.1 for calendar year 2001.
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Table 3-4 Workers Compensation Insurance Experience
DIRECT PREMIUMS WRITTEN $111,624,578 $118,240,623 $141,189,216 $156,207,756 $154,944,245 $147,137,981 $141,097,428 $172,985,620 $208,167,277 $223,674,161 $257,039,527 $264,102,264 $291,804,714 $341,012,872 $366,672,022 $367,030,245 $338,173,750 $312,745,351 $274,014,862 $261,121,536 $250,588,819 $251,341,523 $271,480,320 $291,575,463 DIRECT PREMIUMS EARNED $110,678,942 $113,676,699 $138,145,343 $149,261,425 $152,315,135 $148,669,330 $140,223,325 $170,955,138 $202,033,619 $222,846,661 $259,548,305 $263,386,009 $293,048,038 $337,125,586 $363,578,560 $365,646,558 $312,116,539 $322,205,785 $282,897,458 $261,895,503 $261,594,835 $252,545,287 $247,235,161 $269,386,691 DIRECT LOSSES INCURRED $72,202,238 $82,086,752 $102,896,246 $101,691,667 $107,979,341 $115,282,150 $125,520,390 $147,438,366 $170,153,475 $195,885,084 $208,332,654 $239,142,874 $265,726,660 $321,497,577 $293,894,584 $231,228,324 $192,914,048 $139,528,898 $130,595,593 $134,603,154 $126,164,370 $179,376,781 $159,226,348 $237,335,832 LOSSES PAID LOSSES TO INCURRED TO PREMIUMS PREMIUMS EARNED WRITTEN 45.3 64.7 53.0 69.4 52.6 72.9 53.9 65.1 58.0 69.7 64.8 78.3 76.1 89.0 70.6 85.2 66.6 81.7 66.4 87.6 63.4 81.1 70.2 90.5 75.9 91.1 72.3 94.3 65.2 80.2 60.2 63.0 59.4 57.0 49.6 44.6 52.9 47.7 55.5 51.5 59.9 50.3 67.4 71.4 68.9 64.4 65.3 88.1
YEAR 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
DIRECT LOSSES PAID $50,153,935 $60,281,756 $72,697,056 $80,425,265 $88,345,714 $96,289,968 $106,701,375 $120,755,675 $134,554,116 $147,885,631 $164,553,813 $184,857,801 $222,309,953 $243,751,957 $236,878,948 $220,091,021 $185,502,395 $159,776,412 $149,616,189 $145,248,549 $156,594,835 $170,144,109 $170,366,708 $190,426,537
Source: Kansas Insurance Deparment
The Kansas Open and Closed Claim (OCC) Study
The Workers Compensation Act requires that employers (or their insurers) submit a first report of injury to the Division. Not every injury, however, results in a claim by the injured worker for medical and/or indemnity compensation and generally the Division becomes aware of a claim and obtains information that a given claim has closed, and about the costs and duration of that claim, through only two means. One occurs when that claim has been litigated through the Division's administrative law court system. The second occurs when a sample of insurers are required by statute to provide information to the Division. K.S.A. 44-557a(c) mandates the Director of Workers Compensation "to conduct studies of open and closed claims under the workers compensation act" and to seek advice in order to "make valid statistical conclusions as to the distributions of costs of workers compensation benefits." The expectation of the Division's Open and Closed Claims Study is that the data collected will provide a foundation upon which
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to construct meaningful statistical conclusions about the costs and temporal characteristics associated with workers compensation claims in Kansas and identify trends in these claims characteristics over time. The OCC study is repeated on an annual basis using the first completed survey study as a baseline for comparison of successive samples. Below is an analysis, utilizing univariate statistics, of workers compensation claims data in the state of Kansas over the past four years (1999-2002). The intent of this statutory mandate is that the Division should provide the legislature with information that it can use in deciding whether changes in the provisions of the Workers Compensation Act are needed and if so, to help formulate policy responses to identified problems with the program as presently administered.
The 2002 Open and Closed Claims Study
The 2002 Open and Closed Claim (OCC) Study marks the fourth consecutive year that the Division has collected claims data directly from a stratified random sample of insurance carriers, self-insured organizations and group-funded pools underwriting workers compensation in the state of Kansas (see appendix). The following section summarizes the findings of the OCC for this past calendar year.
Highlights From The 2002 Closed Claims Study
§
For the 2002 closed claims sample the mean total indemnity costs was $7,442 (See Table 3 -5 below). The median total indemnity costs for the same s ample of closed claims was $2,573, indicating that there were a fair number of claims with large indemnity payouts that skewed the mean indemnity costs higher than the median. The mean total medical costs for closed claims were $7,880 (See Table 3-5 below). Out of this total, the mean hospital costs were $3,902, mean total payments to physicians were $2,072, and the mean costs categorized as "other medical" were $2,121. As with indemnity claims, the median claim total medical expense were only $4,109, i dicating the presence of a considerable n number large medical claims that skewed the mean total costs higher than the median. The average lump sum settlements were $28,849 (for the 327 claims that had a lump sum involved) while the median costs was considerably less at $7,141. There were no cases that reported vocational rehabilitation expenses for the 2002 sample.
§
§ §
Table 3-5 2002 Closed Claim Costs Statistics
Mean Median Count
Total Indemnity Total Incurred Vocational Rehab* Total Incurred Medical Hospital Costs Paid to Date Total Payments to Physicians Other Medical Paid to Date Lump Sum Settlement
$7,442 $0 $7,880 $3,902 $2,072 $2,121 $28,849
$2,573 $0 $4,109 $2,328 $1,202 $874 $7,141
1,755 0 1,872 970 1,327 1,195 327
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
*There were no vocational rehab cases in the 2002 sample.
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§ §
§
The mean duration of a claim (from date disability began to the date given by the insurer as the date of closing) was 490 days. Half of the claims in this year's sample were closed within 291 days. See Table 3-6 below. It took an average of 24 days for an insurer to be notified following an accident, with half of the sample taking seven days or less for notification. Insurers took an average of 67 days from the date disability began to make the first payment to the claimant (it took only 17 days for half of all claims). See Table 3-6 below. Claimants who lost time from work due to an injury and then returned to work at a later date on average lost 128 days of work, with half of the claimants in the sample losing only 50 days or less. See Table 3-6 below.
Table 3-6 2002 Closed Claims Time Intervals*
Claim Duration 490 291 1,446 4,167 14 Time Taken to Notify Insurer 24 7 1,872 1,709 0 Time Taken for Insurer to Get First Payment Out 67 17 1,386 1,778 1 Time Off Work 128 50 1,216 3,085 1
Mean Median Count Max Min
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation *All time intervals listed are in days.
§ §
§
Of the 974 claims listing a percentage of impairment of the injured worker greater than 0 percent, 586 (60 percent) claims had a percentage of impairment between 1 percent and 19 percent. See Table 3-7 below. Nearly 25 percent of the injured workers in the sample had secured the services of an attorney to handle their claim, which is an increase of 4 percent from the previous year. The mean indemnity costs for claims involving an attorney ($12,210) were $6,997 greater, on average, than claims without an attorney ($5,213). See Table 3-8 below. Mean total medical costs for claims involving an attorney totaled $11,431. For claims not involving attorneys mean total medical costs were $6,682. Mean lump sum settlements for claims involving attorneys ($10,175) were far greater than for claims without attorneys ($3,308). See Table 3-8 below.
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Table 3-7 2002 Closed Claims Percentage of Impairment
Bracket Count
1-9% 10-19% 20-29% 30-39% 40-49% 50-59% 60-69% 70-79% 80-89% 90-99% 100% Total
586 290 57 14 10 14 2 1 n/a n/a n/a 974
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Table 3-8 2002 Closed Claims Attorney Involvement with Claim
Claimant Attorney Involved No Claimant Attorney All Cases Count 472 1,400 1,872 Average Indemnity Average Medical $12,210 $11,431 $5,213 $6,682 $6,977 $7,880 Average Lump Sum $10,175 $3,308 $5,039
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
§
Mean employer legal expenses, for the 461 claims that had these expenses reported, totaled $2,673 while mean claimant legal expenses were $4,366. The respective medians for employer and claimant legal expenses associated with a claim were $626 and $2,977. The median claimant legal expense were nearly four and three fourths times greater than the median employer legal expense. See Table 3-9 below.
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Table 3-9 2002 Closed Claims Legal Expenses Associated with Claim
Employer's Legal Expenses Claimant's Legal Expenses
Mean Median Count
$2,673 $626 461
$4,366 $2,977 68
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Table 3-10 2002 Closed Claims Average Wage & Indemnity by Employer Payroll
Average of Average Weekly Wage Average of Total Indemnity Count of Return To Work Total Cases in Each Category
$0 $1-100,000 $100,001-$1,000,000 $1,000,001-$10,000,000 Over $10,000,000 Sample Total
$987 $433 $432 $406 $576 $595
$9,930 $5,243 $5,780 $6,612 $5,761 $6,977
374 52 301 300 222 1,249
493 314 329 443 293 1,872
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
The following highlights refer to the 2002 Closed Claim Study charts that follow below (See Figures 3-1 through 3-17). § Injured workers in the 40 to 49-year-old age stratum had the greatest number of claims (546) in the sample, while claimants in the 30 to 39-year-old age stratum were a close second with 501. See Figure 3-1. § Injured workers in the 30 to 39-year-old age stratum reported the highest mean indemnity costs ($8,772), with those in the 50 to 59-year-old age stratum a close second at $8,354. The two injured workers in the 80 to 89-year-old age stratum reported the highest mean medical expenses ($10,693) but for age groupings with over 100 claims in the sample the 30 to 39-year-old age stratum had the highest mean medical costs at $9,128. See Figure 3-2. § Male claimants outnumbered female claimants by more than two-to-one in the sample and reported higher mean indemnity costs ($7,582 for male claimants and $5,656 for female claimants) and slightly higher mean medical costs ($8,225 for males and $7,044 for females). See Figure 3-3. § Lifting was the most frequent cause of injury resulting in a claim for this year's study. The mean indemnity costs for lifting injuries was $5,478 and mean medical costs were $5,832. However, of the top 10 most frequent causes of injury miscellaneous (not otherwise classifiable reported the highest average costs ($11,540 mean indemnity and $12,558 mean medical). See Figures 3-4 and 3-5.
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§
§
§ §
§
§ §
37 percent of the closed claims sample reported strains as the nature of the worker's injury. The second most common nature of injury was fractures followed by contusions. See Figure 3 -6. However, both mean indemnity costs for multiple physical injuries ($14,266 mean indemnity and $11,090 mean medical) were the highest costs by nature of injury. See Figure 3-7. The most frequently injured major body region (which consists of all the body parts condensed down into much broader categories) was the upper extremities (arms, wrists, hands, elbow, etc.). Lower extremities were second with the back region the next most frequently reported injured body region. However, the highest mean indemnity costs and highest m medical costs for ean major body region were with claims involving multiple body parts ($9,979 mean indemnity and $9,542 mean medical). See Figures 3-8 and 3-9. The knee was the most frequently injured body part resulting in scheduled indemnity benefits but shoulder claims had the highest mean indemnity costs ($9,508), while mean medical costs were highest for the lower arm ($9,219). See Figures 3-10 and 3-11. Injuries involving multiple body parts were the most often injured body part resulting in unscheduled indemnity benefit with the lower back area second. However, disc injuries had the highest mean indemnity ($20,146) and upper back injuries had the highest mean medical costs ($14,443) for all unscheduled body part claims. See Figures 3-12 and 3-13. Temporary total disability (TTD) claims constituted 61 percent (down 20 percent from last year) of all closed claims in the sample had a mean of $3,741 for indemnity costs. However, unscheduled permanent partial injuries had the highest non-fatal mean indemnity costs with $10,941. The highest mean indemnity payout by type was $72,381 for permanent total disability benefits, but this was a function of the small number of claims of this type (n=3) used in the calculation of the mean. See Figures 3-15 and 3-15. Carpal tunnel syndrome injuries had mean indemnity costs of $9,847 and mean total medical costs of $6,661. All other cumulative injuries had mean indemnity costs of $10,303 and mean medical costs of $5,705. See Figures 3-16. Due to the dynamic and continually evolving nature of medical and indemnity payments for claims not yet closed (open claims) no meaningful statistics on costs (including daily payments) could be reported. Claim costs for medical, indemnity, vocational rehabilitation and other expenses are discussed in the sections on closed claims.
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Figure 3-1 Distribution of Claimants by Age Closed Claims 2002
0-19 20-29 30-39 Age Bracket 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 800 2 12
41 348 501 546 341 81
100
200
300 Frequency
400
500
600
Figure 3-2 Average Claim Costs by Age of Claimant Closed Claims 2002
0-19 20-29 Age Bracket 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80$0 $1,676 $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 Average Claim ($) $8,000 $10,000 $2,767 $4,413 $4,986 $6,262 $7,303 $2,512 $3,830 $4,940 $5,372 $9,128 $8,772 $8,414 $8,573 $8,354
$10,693 $12,000
Average Indemnity
Average Medical
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Figure 3-3 Average Claim Costs by Gender of Claimant Closed Claims 2002
Unknown
$28,826 $21,388
Female
$7,044 $5,656
Male
$0 $5,000
$8,225 $7,582 $10,000 $15,000 $20,000 $25,000 $30,000 $35,000
Average Claim ($)
Average Indemnity
Average Medical
Figure 3-4 Most Frequent Causes of Injury Closed Claims 2002
Lifting Other-Miscellaneous, NOC Strain or Injury by NOC Repetitive Motion Cause of Injury Fall, Slip or Trip, NOC On Same Level Pushing or Pulling Struck or Injured, NOC From Different Level (Elevation) Striking Against or Stepping On, NOC 0 50 53 100 Frequency 150 200 250 62 72 91 105 130 125 157 172 193
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Figure 3-5 Average Claim Costs for the Most Frequent Causes of Injury Closed Claims 2002
Lifting Other-Miscellaneous, NOC Strain or Injury by NOC Repetitive Motion Fall, Slip or Trip, NOC On Same Level Pushing or Pulling Struck or Injured, NOC From Different Level (Elevation) Striking Against or Stepping On, NOC
$0 $2,000 $4,000 $6,000
$5,832 $5,478 $12,558 $11,540 $5,026 $6,096 $6,997 $9,144 $8,599 $10,054 $8,915 $9,570 $10,785
$7,010 $6,875 $8,671 $8,939 $9,145 $7,775 $7,048
$8,000 $10,000 Average Claim ($)
$12,000
$14,000
Average Indemnity
Average Medical
Figure 3-6 Most Frequently Reported Nature of Claimant Injury Closed Claims 2002
Strain
697 208 130 126 124 110 105 68 50 41
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Fracture
Contusion
Nature of Injury
Sprain
Hernia All other Specific Injuries, NOC
Laceration
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
All Other Cumulative Injury, NOC Multiple Physical Injuries Only
Frequency
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Figure 3-7 Average Claim Costs for Most Frequently Reported Nature of Injury Closed Claims 2002
$6,689 $6,373 $8,030 $6,724 $6,785 $6,266 $6,868 $8,687 $3,210 $5,926 $6,661 $5,705 $9,847 $10,303 $11,090 $8,000 $10,000 $12,000 $9,813 $8,217 $10,870 $9,234
Strain
Nature of Injury
Fracture Contusion Sprain Hernia
All other Specific Injuries, NOC Laceration Carpal Tunnel Syndrome All Other Cumulative Injury, NOC Multiple Physical Injuries Only
$14,266 $14,000 $16,000
$0
$2,000
$4,000
$6,000
Average Claim ($) Average Indemnity Average Medical
Figure 3-8 Most Frequent Major Body Region Injured by Claimant Closed Claims 2002
Upper Extremities Lower Extremities Back Multiple Body Parts/Miscellaneous Trunk Head Neck 0 39 31 100 200 300 400 Frequency 500 600 700 800 176 159 306 404 757
Body Region
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Figure 3-9 Average Claim Costs by Major Body Region Closed Claims 2002
Upper Extremities Lower Extremities Body Region Back Multiple Body Parts/Miscellaneous Trunk Head Neck $0 $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 Average Claim ($) Average Indemnity Average Medical $8,000 $6,367 $2,993 $5,246 $5,831 $8,650 $9,470 $10,000 $12,000 $7,235 $6,673 $8,323 $5,675 $8,976 $9,686 $9,542 $9,979
Figure 3-10 Most Frequent Scheduled Body Part Claims Closed Claims 2002
Knee Shoulder(s) Finger(s) Wrist Body Part Hand Upper Arm Ankle Foot Thumb Lower Arm 0 20 33 30 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 55 52 50 60 78 83 87 166
Frequency
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Figure 3-11 Average Claim Costs for Most Frequent Scheduled Body Parts Closed Claims 2002
Knee Shoulder(s) Finger(s) Wrist Hand Upper Arm Ankle Foot Thumb Lower Arm $0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 Average Claim ($) $6,000 $7,000 $8,000 $2,590 $2,321 $3,626 $3,593 $9,219 $8,300 $9,000 $10,000 $3,731 $3,094 $5,040 $2,318 $4,826 $4,267 $4,726 $4,612 $6,421 $5,093 $7,984 $4,883 $8,812 $9,508
Average Indemnity
Average Medical
Figure 3-12 Most Frequent Unscheduled Body Parts Claims Closed Claims 2002
Multiple Body Parts (including Body Systems & Body Parts) Lower Back Area Multiple Upper Extremities Abdomen Upper Back Area Internal Organs Multiple Trunk Chest Insufficient inf. to Properly Identify-Unclassified Disc - Trunk 0 33 29 21 18 17 13 50 100 150 200 250 Frequency 300 350 400 450 500 78 73 254 440
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Figure 3-13 Average Claim Costs for Most Frequent Unscheduled Body Parts Closed Claims 2002
Multiple Body Parts (including Body Systems & Body Parts) Lower Back Area Multiple Upper Extremities Abdomen Upper Back Area Internal Organs Multiple Trunk Chest Insufficient inf. to Properly Identify-Unclassified Disc - Trunk $0 $5,000
$9,871 $8,452 $7,977 $8,915 $11,563 $10,299 $1,622 $4,926 $8,322 $1,989 $5,120 $8,727 $6,193 $8,012 $4,637 $7,931 $9,462
$10,000 $15,000
$14,443
$15,379 $20,146
$20,000 $25,000
Average Claim ($) Average Indemnity Average Medical
Figure 3-14 Most Frequent Type of Claimant Injury Closed Claims 2002
Indemnity Portion of Expenses (1) Temporary Partial Temporary Total Unscheduled Permanent Partial Scheduled Permanent Partial Permanent Total Disability Death 0 3 2 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 193 480 72 70 1254
Count
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Figure 3-15 Average Indemnity Costs by Type of Claimant Injury Closed Claims 2002
Indemnity Portion of Expenses (1) Temporary Partial Temporary Total Unscheduled Permanent Partial Scheduled Permanent Partial Permanent Total Disability Death $0
$3,428 $1,373 $3,741 $10,941 $7,090 $72,381 $32,410 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 $80,000
Injury Type
Average Indemnity ($)
Figure 3-16 Claim Costs for Carpal Tunnel and All Other Cumulative Injuries Closed Claims 2002
Average Claim ($) $0 Average Indemnity $5,705 $6,661 $622 $2,142 $1,052 $1,869 $540 $942 All Other Cumulative Injury, NOC Carpal Tunnel Syndrome $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000 $10,000 $10,303 $9,847 $12,000
Payment Type
Average Total Medical
Average Hospital Cost* Average Payments to Physicians* Average of Other Medical Payments*
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Comparative Analysis of 1999-2002 OCC Claims Costs and Temporal Characteristics
K.S.A. 44-557a(c) mandates the Director of Workers Compensation "to conduct studies of open and closed claims under the workers compensation act" and to seek advice in order to "make valid statistical conclusions as to the distributions of costs of workers compensation benefits." The expectation of the Division's Open and Closed Claims Study is that the data collected will provide a foundation upon which to construct meaningful statistical conclusions about the costs and temporal characteristics associated with workers compensation claims in Kansas and help identify trends in these claims characteristics over time. The OCC study is repeated on an annual basis using the first completed survey study as a baseline for comparison of successive samples. Below is an analysis, utilizing univariate statistic s, of workers compensation claims data in the state of Kansas over the past three years (1999-2002).
Univariate Statistics
Univariate statistics are important quantitative tools for describing the statistical distribution of workers compensation data. The term "univariate" refers to the presentation or analysis of one variable at a time and usually involves such statistics as frequency distributions, measures of central tendency (e.g., mean and median) and dispersion (e.g., variance and standard deviation). Important variables associated with workers compensation claims include the following:
§ § § § § §
total indemnity costs for the claim total medical costs for the claim total physician, hospital and other medical costs for the claim claim duration (calculated from date of injury to date of closing) 2 time away from work (calculated from date of disability to return to work date) medical recovery time for the claim (calculated from date of injury to date of maximum medical improvement)
These eight workers compensation variables, list above, will be analyzed in this section of the report. See Tables 3-11 through 3-14.
§
§
2
From 1999 to 2002 mean3 total indemnity declined by some $494.01 or 6.2 percent. The Division is 95 percent confident that the parameter mean for total indemnity in the 2002 study was $7,442.08 +/- $307.06, or between $7,135.02 and $7,749.14. For the 2001 OCC sample mean indemnity was $6,530.81 +/- $228.65, or somewhere between $6,302.16 and $6,759.46, for the 2000 OCC sample was $7,235.45 +/- $264.76 or between $6,970.69 and $7,500.2 and for the 1999 OCC sample was $7936.09 +/- $306.92 or between $7,629.17 and $8,243.01. Mean total medical costs, however, have risen 34.7 percent ($2,026.19) over the past four years. Reported mean total medical costs for the 2002 OCC sample were $7,879.78 +/- $332.67 or
In Table 3-6 claim duration is calculated from date of claim closing back to the date of disability. For purposes here claim duration is calculated as back to the date of injury in order to reflect the full duration of a claim. 3 The mean is the arithmetic average of a set of numbers.
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§
§
§ §
§
§ §
§ §
§
between $7,547.11 and $8,212.45. For 2001 mean costs were $7,108.58 +/- $232.69 (between $6,857.89 and $7,341.27), for 2000 mean medical costs were $6,872.88 +/- $280.39 (between $6,592.49 and $7,063.27) and $5,853.59 +/- $277.05 (between $5,576.54 and $6,130.64) for 1999. Median4 costs for all cost variables, however, are substantially lower than the mean for all years of the OCC study. Median total indemnity costs for the 2002 OCC study were $2,573, for the 2001 OCC were $2,296, an increase of 8.5 percent from 2000 ($2,115) but a decrease of 21.5 percent from 1999 ($2,926). For the period 1999-2002 median total indemnity costs are down 12 percent. Median total medical costs have risen each year that the OCC study has collected workers compensation claims data, a relative increase of 68 percent. In 2002 median total medical costs were $4,108.50 and in 2001 median costs were $3,834. This represents an increase of 14.7 percent from year 2000 ($3,342) and up a staggering 56.7 percent from 1999 ($2,447). Univariate statistics associated with total physician, total hospital and total other medical for 1999-2002 are listed in Tables 3-11 through 3-14. The mean claim duration for all claims in the 2002 OCC sample was 500.49 +/- 13.04 days. For the 2001 OCC sample mean claim duration was 449.83 +/- 9.19 days. The mean duration has risen 13 percent from the 2000 OCC sample (442.86 +/- 8.32 days) and 15.7 percent from the calculated mean duration for the 1999 sample (423.46 +/- 8.85 days). For 2002 mean time away from work, calculated as the time from disability to the date the claimant returned to work was 124.77 +/- 6.9 days. In 2001 mean time away from work was 76.42 +/- 3.27 days and 89.93 +/- 4.28 days in 2000. No data was available for the 1999 OCC sample. Mean time away from work for claimants in the OCC samples increased 38.7 percent from over three years. Mean medical recovery time was 391.55 +/- 11.53 days, for 2001 was 260.47 +/- 6.47 days, for the 2000 OCC sample was 256.46 +/- 6.52 days and in 1999 mean time was 279.04 +/- 6.77 days. In other words mean medical recovery time increased 40 percent from 1999 to 2002. As with median claim costs, the median numbers of days for the temporal characteristics associated with the claim are substantially lower than the mean. Median claim duration for the 2002 sample was 324.5, for 2001 was 332 days, for 2000 the median number of days was 329 and for 1999 was 314 days. For time away from work the median number of days for 2002, 2000 and 2001 was 47 days, 29 days and 32 days respectively. Median medical recovery time was higher than time away from work but lower than claim duration for all four years of the study (241.5 days in 2002, 174 days in 2001, 151 days in 2000 and 183 days in 1999). Statistical measures of dispersion, such as the standard deviation or skewness, help explain how the outliers "inflate" the mean for both claim costs and characteristics variables. All eight variables show a positive skewness value (greater than zero) for all four years of the OCC study. After four years of analyzing claims data the Division has concluded that the distribution of medical and indemnity claim costs in Kansas are not normally distributed and therefore, the median may be a more appropriate measure of central tendency for summarizing the closed claims costs data since this value is relatively unaffected by high cost outliers. For each of the last four years of the OCC study the sample distributions for claim costs and temporal variables have been positively skewed, or right skewed. Compared to a normally distributed variable, in the shape of a bell curve, the distribution of claim costs (for both indemnity and all medical variables) are skewed to the right with most of the claims bunched near the left wall of the histogram while a relatively few claims extend the histogram out, to the right
4
The median is simply the midpoint value (50th percentile) of the distribution, half of all values are above it and half are below it.
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and give it a long tail. Hence, we use the term right skewed or positively skewed because the values in the ta il extend the distribution out into positive, not negative, values. A quantitative assessment of the skewness of a distribution can be calculated (see Tables 3-11 through 3-14), but it must be assessed in conjunction with another measure, the kurtosis or the tendency of the data to be distributed toward the ends or tails of the spread. All eight variables show a positive skewness value (greater than zero) for all three years of the OCC study. For a normally distributed variable the kurtosis statistic would be close to zero. 5 If the kurtosis measure is less than zero then the distribution is referred to as "light tailed" and if greater than zero it is described as "heavy tailed." Since the distributions of all the variables under study are asymmetrical (values cannot be less than zero) the kurtosis measures signals that there are a substantial number of outliers (high cost and large number of days) in the tails of the distribution for the variables under study (the kurtosis is much higher for some of the medical cost variables).
Table 3-11 2002 OCC Study: Workers Compensation Claims* in Kansas
Univariate Statistics
Standard Error 307.06 332.67 77.65 189.37 260.95 13.04 6.90 11.53 Standard Deviation Skewness 12,863.64 3.82 14,393.53 9.26 2,828.64 5.28 5,897.96 5.12 9,020.72 30.02 564.40 3.00 243.90 6.28 499.03 3.44 Coefficient of Variation 172.85 182.66 136.51 151.14 425.32 112.77 195.52 127.45
Total Indemnity (dollars) Total Medical (dollars) Total Physician Costs (dollars) Total Hospital Costs (dollars) Total Other Medical (dollars) Claim Duration (days) Time Away from Work (days) Medical Recovery (days)
Mean 7,442.08 7,879.78 2,072.15 3,902.37 2,120.92 500.49 124.77 391.55
Median 2,573.00 4,108.50 1,202.00 2,327.50 874.00 324.50 47.00 241.50
Kurtosis 18.93 144.12 53.14 42.04 985.84 11.11 57.74 15.47
n 1,755 1,872 1,327 970 1,195 1,872 1,249 1,872
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation *Claims that closed in 2001 with paid indemnity & medical.
5
Actually, the kurtosis of the normal distribution is three but SAS software subtracts three from the calculation so that the reference point becomes zero, a more intuitively appealing number in their estimation.
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Table 3-12 2001 OCC Study: Workers Compensation Claims* in Kansas
Univariate Statistics
Standard Error 228.65 232.69 66.82 187.53 103.46 9.19 3.27 6.47 Standard Deviation Skewness 10,746.36 3.61 10,936.24 5.98 3,077.74 4.14 7,594.41 8.94 4,353.92 7.59 431.81 2.61 121.46 3.38 303.92 3.13 Coefficient of Variation 164.55 153.85 134.86 176.01 203.79 95.99 158.94 116.68
Total Indemnity (dollars) Total Medical (dollars) Total Physician Costs (dollars) Total Hospital Costs (dollars) Total Other Medical (dollars) Claim Duration (days) Time Away from Work (days) Medical Recovery (days)
Mean 6,530.81 7,108.58 2,282.25 4,314.73 2,136.52 449.83 76.42 260.47
Median 2,296.00 3,834.00 1,351.50 2,300.00 683.00 332.00 32.00 174.00
Kurtosis 17.84 66.35 29.34 140.10 105.57 9.65 14.36 15.32
n 2,209 2,209 2,122 1,640 1,771 2,209 1,378 2,206
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation *Claims that closed in 2000 with paid indemnity & medical.
Table 3-13 2000 OCC Study: Workers Compensation Claims* in Kansas
Univariate Statistics
Standard Error 264.76 280.39 131.20 200.59 93.34 8.32 4.28 6.52 Standard Deviation Skewness 13,118.47 4.19 13,892.52 11.06 6,409.96 23.60 8,231.63 10.06 4,144.81 10.76 412.25 2.28 166.78 4.40 323.20 3.38 Coefficient of Variation 181.31 202.14 231.41 195.28 258.48 93.09 185.44 126.03
Total Indemnity (dollars) Total Medical (dollars) Total Physician Costs (dollars) Total Hospital Costs (dollars) Total Other Medical (dollars) Claim Duration (days) Time Away from Work (days) Medical Recovery (days)
Mean 7,235.45 6,872.88 2,770.01 4,215.40 1,603.54 442.86 89.93 256.46
Median 2,115.00 3,342.00 1,369.00 2,051.50 557.00 329.00 29.00 151.00
Kurtosis 24.68 200.06 833.40 175.24 175.05 8.92 26.40 17.74
n 2,455 2,455 2,387 1,684 1,972 2,455 1,519 2,455
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation *Claims that closed in 1999 with paid indemnity & medical.
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Table 3-14 1999 OCC Study: Workers Compensation Claims* in Kansas
Univariate Statistics
Standard Error 306.92 277.05 68.55 171.30 221.00 8.85 n/a 6.77 Standard Deviation Skewness 14,294.14 4.85 12,902.78 16.90 3,128.68 4.31 6,538.48 6.41 9,371.18 35.10 412.31 2.76 n/a n/a 315.25 3.07 Coefficient of Variation 180.12 220.43 153.38 180.98 527.14 97.37 n/a 112.97
Total Indemnity (dollars) Total Medical (dollars) Total Physician Costs (dollars) Total Hospital Costs (dollars) Total Other Medical (dollars) Claim Duration (days) Time Away from Work (days) Medical Recovery (days)
Mean 7,936.09 5,853.59 2,039.81 3,612.86 1,777.74 423.46 n/a 279.04
Median 2,926.00 2,447.00 1,042.00 1,655.00 517.50 314.00 n/a 183.00
Kurtosis 36.36 489.68 28.36 68.60 1,383.89 11.30 n/a 15.40
n 2,169 2,169 2,083 1,457 1,798 2,169 n/a 2,169
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation *Claims that closed in 1998 with paid indemnity & medical.
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2002
Section 4
Workers Compensation Fraud and Abuse
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Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Annual Statistical Report
2002
Introduction
The Workers Compensation Fraud and Abuse Investigation Unit was established in 1994. Staffing for the Unit comprises an Assistant Attorney General, who acts as the Unit's manager, three investigators and one clerical person. The Unit's responsibilities includes identifying potential fraud and abuse by investigating allegations of wrongdoing that are referred to the Unit and taking legal action when evidence gathered in the investigations indicates possible wrongdoing. In addition, the Unit sanctions employers who fail to file accident reports as required by K.S.A. 44-557. The Unit is dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of suspected workers compensation fraud, however the Unit also has directed its attention to the education of the public and the insurance industry. Also the Unit has filed cases against employers who have failed to file accident reports as required by K.S.A. 44-557. Fraud in the workers compensation system may occur at any level involving employees, employers, insurance carriers, self-insured entities, attorneys, physicians and others who attempt to obtain or deny workers compensation benefits in a fraudulent manner. K.S.A. 44-5,120 lists 21 acts that constitute fraud and or abuse of the workers compensation system. K.S.A. 44-5,125 makes some acts a felony crime. The Fraud and Abuse Unit of the Division of Workers Compensation set a record this past fiscal year, as the data in this section will evidence. All information reported hereafter reflects activity during fiscal year 2002 (July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002).
§
This year the Fraud and Abuse Unit set a new record and collected the most in restitution and civil penalties ever, $89,550.12 for fiscal year 2002. The Fraud and Abuse Unit has stepped up prosecution of workers compensation fraud violators. Not only is prosecution up, but enforcement of the judgment, i.e. collection of fines, penalties and restitution, has significantly increased. During the fiscal year 2002, the Fraud and Abuse Unit performed 213 investigations of those individuals, self-insured entities and employers who were alleged to have violated the Kansas Workers Compensation act. The Unit has provided Kansans with an aggressive program to fight fraud in the workers compensation system. Also in fiscal year 2002, the Unit pursued employers who failed to file accident reports as required by K.S.A. 44-557.
§
The Unit performs a vital service in helping reduce and punish workers compensation fraud violators and insures compliance with other relevant workers compensation laws in Kansas. However, this is not enough. The direct involvement of all Kansans is required to send the message that fraud will not be tolerated in Kansas.
Table 4-1 Overview of Fraud & Abuse Unit Activity
Civil Cases Filed Criminal Cases Filed Total Cases Filed Moneys Collected
42 3 45 $89,550.12
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
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2002
Referrals
Information Received by the Unit
The Fraud and Abuse Unit receives information on alleged fraud and other violations of the workers compensation laws by phone, fax, e-mail, regular mail, or a submission from one of the other sections of the Division of Workers Compensation. Allegations of fraud and abuse are designated as a referral. This referral is reviewed by the Assistant Attorney General to determine if sufficient information is evident to warrant an investigation. If there is sufficient information, the case is given to an investigator for investigation. If insufficient information exists, the matter is either returned to the complaining party for further information or if that is not possible, then the referral is recorded but no investigation commences.
Reporting Fraud, Abuse or Lack of Compliance
Table 4-2 below indicates who reports allegations of fraud, abuse and lack of compliance to the Unit. As noted, reports come in from all persons within the workers compensation system.
Table 4-2 Who is Reporting Fraud, Abuse & Lack of Compliance
Fraud Reporting Persons Claiming Benefits Employers Subject to Workers Compensation Requirements Insurance Companies Renderers of Medical Care & Physicians Attorneys Anonymous & Others In-House Self-insured employers
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Total
16 5 46 4 23 60 54 5
Referrals by Location
The Fraud and Abuse Unit records the location of the referrals by the county in which the fraud allegedly occurred. Table 4-3 lists the number of referrals received from each county.
§
Of the 213 referrals, 22 came from Sedgwick County, 19 from Wyandotte County, 62 from Johnson County and 27 from Shawnee County.
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2002
Table 4-3 Referrals by County
Johnson Shawnee Sedgwick Wyandotte Reno Douglas Riley Saline Bourbon Cowley All Other Counties Total Referrals 62 27 22 19 6 5 4 4 3 3 58 213
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
Types of Fraud
The Unit classifies the type of fraud reported as it relates to the fraud and abuse statutes as well as the compliance statutes. Table 4-4 lists the types of fraud, abuse, and lack of compliance cases reported to the Unit over the past year.
Type of Alleged Violators
Of the 213 referrals for the year, claimants were indicated in 49, employers 70, insurance entities 1, selfinsured employers 10, renderers of medical care, attorneys and all others 83.
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Table 4-4 Number Of Fraud, Abuse & Compliance Cases Reported
Type of Fraud, Abuse & Compliance Referrals
Total
Obtaining or denying benefits by making false statements either orally or written, K.S.A. 44-5, 120 (D)(4). Misrepresenting provisions of the Act to an employee, employer, or medical provider, K.S.A. 44-5, 120 (D)(11). Failure to confirm benefits to anyone providing treatment to a claimant, K.S.A. 44-5, 120 (D)(15). Refusing or failing to make prompt delivery to employee or legal beneficiary of funds belonging to the employee or legal beneficiary as a result of a settlement agreement, order or reward, K.S.A. 445, 120 (D)(10). Failure to initiate or reinstate compensation when due, K.S.A. 44-5, 120 (D)(16). Misrepresenting the reason for changing compensation, K.S.A. 44-5, 120 (D)(17). Refusing to pay compensation as and when due, K.S.A. 44-5, 120 (D)(18). Refusing to pay any order awarding compensation, K.S.A. 44-5, 120 (D)(19). Failing to timely file accident reports, K.S.A. 44557. Receiving TTD or PTD benefits while working, K.S.A. 44-5, 125 (D). Failure to maintain workers compensation insurance when required, K.S.A. 44-532 (d). All other Fraud and Abusive Practices.
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
67
1 4
2 3 3 10 12 17 18 67 9
Investigations
The Fraud Unit has three full-time investigators. These investigators are not law enforcement officers, however, they perform almost identical investigative duties as sworn law enforcement. The investigation process includes activities such as interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, forming liaisons with law enforcement groups as well as special fraud investigation units within the insurance industry and testifying in administrative and criminal actions.
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Once an investigation is complete, the investigator will prepare an investigative summary for the Assistant Attorney General to review. Criminal or administrative action commences if the Assistant Attorney General determines that there is sufficient information to sustain the burden of proof in either a criminal or administrative action. If the information indicates an insurance company as the alleged fraud violator, that information is referred to the Kansas Insurance Department for review. Per Kansas's law, the Kansas Insurance Department has authority to bring a fraud and/or abusive practice violation against insurance companies.
§
Of the 213 referrals, some are referred to the Kansas Insurance Department for investigation or the Immigration and Naturalization Service or other authorities depending on the alleged violation involved.
If the information developed is insufficient to sustain the burden of proof in any action, the case is closed with no further action to be taken.
§
The average time for an investigation was 78 days. The Assistant Attorney General made a decision to prosecute, refer or close the file within an average of 18 days.
Prosecution
The Unit is authorized to initiate criminal or administrative action against individuals and entities that appear to have committed fraud or abuse of the workers compensation system. The Unit has been extremely aggressive in this area. Civil actions are broken out into compliance and fraud actions.
§
Three felony criminal cases were filed in Johnson, Seward, and Wyandotte Counties in FY2002.
Table 4-5 Number of Cases
Civil Fraud/Abuse Compliance
K.S.A. 44-532 K.S.A. 44-557
42 20 21 1 3 45
Criminal Total
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
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Collections
This year the Unit has devoted serious effort to collection of fines, penalties and restitution. During either a criminal or administrative action, a penalty, fine, or restitution is requested but not necessarily ordered by the judge or hearing officer. The total amount collected for FY2002 was $89,550.12. 1 The Unit makes every attempt to collect the funds due and owed to the Unit without any assistance. However in some instances the Legal Services Division of the Kansas Department of Human Resources is used to file collection action. Once the money is received, the statute requires that it must be deposited in the appropriate fund. Figure 4-6 shows the breakdown of which fund receives the money collected. Restitution is money that is returned to the victim of the fraud.
Figure 4-6 Fraud, Abuse & Compliance Collections
Fee Fund K.S.A. 44-5, 120; 44-557 Workers Compensation Fund K.S.A. 44-532 Restitution K.S.A. 44-5, 120 & 44-5, 125 Total
Source: Kansas Division of Workers Compensation
$21,990.89 $53,672.21 $13,887.02 $89,550.12
Conclusion
The Division of Workers Compensation Fraud and Abuse Unit is and will continue aggressively investigating and prosecuting workers compensation violators. If you wish to report an employer failing to comply with the Workers Compensation Act, fraud or just have questions for the Unit, please do not hesitate to contact the Division. Finally, special thanks to David Sprick, Robert O'Loughlin, Judy Hanna, Georgia Rogers, and Andrew Bell, all of the Division, for their work on gathering and reporting the Unit's statistics.
1
During the first six months of FY2003 the Fraud and Abuse Unit has collected over $90,000 in civil penalties and restitution.
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2002
Appendix A
Technical Notes: Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates and the Open and Closed Claims Study
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Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses : BLS, with the help of the state agencies,
selects a non-proportional stratified probability sample of employment establishments and mails them questionnaires. Employers are instructed to record all nonfatal employee injury and illness incidents, number of days away from work for each recorded injury/illness, the number of employee hours worked and the establishment's average employment. Participants in the annual survey consist of employers who maintain Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) records on employee injuries and illnesses on a regular basis under federal law and smaller employers who are exempt from OSHA record keeping requirements. The data collection process differs for the former and the latter. The former are mailed a questionnaire in February, following the survey year, and are asked to transfer from their records all injuries and illnesses incurred as well as demographic and hours worked data. The latter, exempt employers (those with fewer than 11 employees and those designated as "low-hazard industries" by OSHA) are notified in December of the prior year (contacted in December of 2000 to record injuries for the 2001 survey) that they have been chosen to participate in the survey and must keep records of all employee injuries. The participating state agencies are responsible for collecting data from employers within their jurisdiction and for submitting these questionnaires to BLS for analysis. The BLS uses its incidence rates as a benchmark by which to compare the frequency of injuries and illnesses occurring within jurisdictions, industries or specific occupations for a calendar year. The variable "Total Injuries and Illnesses per 100 Full-time workers" (the most widely quoted measure) is calculated as follows:
Formula: IR= (N/EH) x 200,000 IR= Incidence Rate N= Total number of occupational injuries and illnesses EH= Total hours worked by all private industry employees during the calendar year 200,000= Base for 100 equivalent full-time workers- 40 hrs per and 50 weeks per year
Kansas Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates: The Division collects data on the entire
population of workplace injuries and illnesses in the state of Kansas for FY2001 through its first report of injury form and stores it in its relational database. Every employer covered under the Workers Compensation Act that has workplace injuries must submit first reports of injury. The severity of each occupational accident or illness and the industrial classification code are mandatory data elements that must be reported by employers to the state. The severity of each accident or illness is exhibited by the numerical codes representing the following severity categories: 0-No time lost, 1-Time lost, 2Hospitalization, 3 -Fatality. The Division's analysts utilized the BLS statistical formula (see above) to calculate the incidence of injury for each severity classification for Kansas's non-federal employment hours for the past eleven fiscal years. Data used in the calculation of incidence rates was obtained from the Kansas Labor Market Information Services and Division databases.
Kansas Open and Closed Claim (OCC) Study Methodology
The following is a description of the methodology used by the Technology and Statistics section of the Division for the 2002 Open and Closed Claim (OCC) Study.
Sample Design: The Division consulted with a professor of statistics from Washburn University in
order to achieve both efficiency and effectiveness in the OCC Study. Rather than collecting data from the entire population of claims for a calendar year, which would be impractical (as it would result in very large data sets), extremely expensive, and labor intensive, the Division's researchers can randomly sample
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2002
the population and make valid inferences about its characteristics using reliable and credible statistical techniques. Typically, it is preferable to use simple random sampling in a study of this nature. The goal of simple random sampling designs is to ensure that each element in the population has an equal chance of being selected for the study. However, this type of one-stage sampling of carriers is not an option for the OCC study since the Division must have a sample that is sufficiently large and accurately representative of the population in order to perform relevant statistical inference. The sample must also preserve the power of equal probability associated with simple random sampling for statistical purposes. This enables the researchers to process the statistics without having to weight any of the data, thus making the calculations simpler and easier for the public to understand. The paid loss claims are not evenly distributed within the carrier population. The carriers with higher paid losses tend to have a higher proportion of paid loss claims. Therefore, the Division needed to sample a larger percentage of these carriers in order to ensure that the sample was representative of the total population. In order to accommodate this situation, the Division has always utilized a two-stage type of probability sampling procedure known as "disproportionate stratified sampling." Unlike a simple random design, the stratified sample design ensures that different groups within the population will be adequately represented in the sample, thus increasing the accuracy of the parameter estimations. The general strategy employed is to first create strata (subsets of the total population) that are more homogeneous than the population as a whole, and then to sample a different fraction of each stratum population. Then, when combined, the resulting sample will be reasonably representative of the more heterogeneous total population. Furthermore, each carrier is required to sample claims from their database using simple random sampling techniques. This resulting sample will preserve the principle of simple random selection as each carrier of the sample is randomly selected from within each stratum. The study team estimated that in order to obtain a statistically significant sample, it would be sufficient to sample approximately 35-40 insurance carriers, pools and self-insured organizations. The sampling method is as follows: The population was first stratified according to paid losses. The specific variable used to stratify this population was percent of total paid losses for all workers compensation claims in the state of Kansas. Subsequent to stratification, the Division selected carriers from each stratum by utilizing a random number generator. All carriers in any particular stratum had the same chances of being selected as any other carrier in the same stratum. The selected carriers were then asked to randomly select claims from their own databases that met the OCC study criteria. In consultation with the Division's statistician, the Division stratified the population as follows: Stratum 1 contains all members of the population with greater than or equal to 2 percent of the total paid losses. Stratum 2 contains all members of the population with greater than or equal to 1 percent (but less than 2 percent) of the total paid losses. Stratum 3 contains all members of the population with greater than or equal to 0.5 percent (but less than 1percent) of total paid losses. Stratum 4 contains those members with greater than or equal to 0.25 percent (but less than 0.5 percent) of total paid losses. Stratum 5 contains members with greater than or equal to 0.1 percent (but less than 0.25 percent) of total paid losses. As discussed above, carriers from the strata needed to be sampled disproportionately in order to maintain the principle of simple random sampling. After running a sampling procedure and modifying sampling numbers, final sampling percentages were established for the various strata. 100 percent of the elements of stratum 1 were selected, 57.1 percent of the elements of stratum 2 were selected, 32 percent of the elements of stratum 3 were selected, 9.3 percent of the elements of stratum 4 were selected, and 9.9 percent of the elements of stratum 5 were selected. This resulted in a total sample of 38 elements from the total population, which satisfies the requirement of 35-40 elements necessary for a statistically significant sample. On occasion, if the situation arises, the Director of the Div ision may need to enlarge the study or substitute carriers for political, administrative or financial reasons. In order to accommodate the possibility of this occurrence, the Division created a backup list of carriers by first removing the initially selected carriers from the original database and sampling from the resulting list. Two carriers were selected from each of strata 2
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2002
and 3, and one more carrier was selected from stratum 4, yielding a total of five alternative carriers for inclusion in the study.
Data Collection: The organizations included in the study were then asked by the Division to randomly
sample from their databases approximately 200 or less (if they did not have 200) claims for the specified calendar year. The sample was to be taken from each entity's pool of claims, including both medical and indemnity payments. Each claim in the sample was also required to have been open at least one day during the period of January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2001. The expected sample size of both the open and closed claims was approximately 3,611 random claims. The Division secured permission from the National Council on Compensation Insurance to print and use the Detailed Claim Information (DCI) survey instrument in order to create data definitions and structure for the Kansas Open and Closed Claim Study survey. DCI is a national standard for reporting comprehensive claim data from insurance carriers. Adhering to the DCI structure, programmers in the Kansas Department of Human Resources created two software packages to assist reporting entities. One package was a manual entry system; the other application allowed a text file to be imported electronically. Both products included editing limitations on inputs to certain data fields. In addition, the Division's analysts performed data scrubbing on the data sets to ensure that accurate aggregate statistics were reported to the Legislature. To assist reporting organizations in understanding data requirements and use of the new software, the Division offered assistance upon request. Following distribution of both software products, reporting entities were asked to provide data by May 31, 2002 on the complete history of their sample of claims. In addition, the Division asked that information on charges paid for certain types of services were reported quarterly for claims remaining open within the sample group.
Response Rate: Non-response bias is always a threat to the accuracy of a sample because nonrespondents may differ significantly from survey r espondents. Typically, in any study such as this, certain organizations do not respond due to various circumstances, including, but not limited to, bankruptcy, refusal to answer, or lost forms. In order to assess whether the OCC sample suffered from non-response bias, the Division calculated an estimated response rate for the study. In order to do this, the Division first assumed that claims reported by the carriers who had less than the required 200 were, in fact, all of their claims for the year 2001. For the purposes of calculating the non-response rate, the total number of claims not reported was estimated by comparing the number of submitted claims from carriers in the study within the same stratum. Specifically, the statistical mean of the number of claims received per carrier in each stratum was used to estimate the number of claims expected from each non-respondent in the same stratum. This estimation is known as the "mean imputation." The total number of claim records that the Division received was 3,306 out of an estimated 3,611 sampling units. The Division used the following standard formula to calculate the response rate, R: R=1-[(n-r)/n], where n = sample size, and r = number of actual responses. The Division's analysts calculated a response rate of approximately 92 percent for this study, and thus a corresponding non-response rate of approximately 8 percent. The Division, in consultation with its statistician, concluded that the sample did not suffer from systematic non-response bias.
96
Free Annual Report 2002 - Kansas
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| Date: | February 11, 2003 |
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