title: Length of disability and cost of work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity.
abstract: There is little information on the length of disability (LOD) reported for work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity (WMSDUE). For this study, LOD, cost, and the relationship between LOD and cost were derived from a large workers' compensation company's claims data for 1994 WMSDUE (n = 21,338). The average LOD was 87 days, with a median of zero days. For those claims with at least one day of compensable disability (25.2%), the average and median LOD were 294 and 99 days, respectively. The distribution of cost was skewed, with the average cost of a claim being 13 times higher than its median. Approximately 60% of the claims cost $1000 or less. Additionally, the 6.8% of the claims with an LOD greater than one year accounted for 59.9% of the cost and 75% of the total disability days. The majority of WMSDUE claimants did not lose sufficient time to qualify for indemnity. For those who did receive lost time wages, a disability duration of more than three months was typical.
authors.affiliation: Liberty Mutual Research Center for Safety and Health, Hopkinton, Mass 01748, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Clancy
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Courtney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018868:Insurance, Disability / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000191:economics*; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States