title: Work-related tetraplegia: cause of injury and annual medical costs.
abstract: METHODS
  Descriptive study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the demographics, cause of injury, and annual-paid medical costs for the 5 years following injury for cases of work-related tetraplegia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A single United States workers' compensation (WC) claims database.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tetraplegia cases with initial date of injury from 1 January 1989 to 31 December 1999 were selected by cross-referencing word search terms pertaining to body part injured and nature of injury. The main outcome measures were injury causes and annual-paid medical payments (adjusted to year 2000 medical consumer price index) of work-related tetraplegia by injury group for each year postinjury over a 5-year time period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 62 claimants with work-related tetraplegia injured between 1 January 1989 and 31 December 1999. The vast majority of those identified were male claimants (92%) and more than a quarter worked in the construction industry (26%). Other highly represented industries included transportation and retail (15% each), manufacturing (13%), and agriculture and utility (11% each). The majority of injuries were the result of falls (36%) and vehicular accidents (34%). The mean Year 1 cost was US dollars 560524 for those with a high-level tetraplegia (C2-4 ASIA A-C), US dollars 431033 for a low-level injury (C5-8 ASIA A-C), and US dollars 178041 for those with an ASIA D tetraplegia injury. The mean cost of subsequent years (Years 2-5) was US dollars 130992 for a high-level, US dollars 129250 for a low-level, and Us dollars 34352 for an ASIA D tetraplegia injury.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mean costs for Year 1 postinjury in WC cases are similar to previously published estimates. Comparing the current results with those of previous spinal cord injury cost studies suggests that those with work-related tetraplegia may receive more injury-related paid medical benefits after the first year postinjury than cases who do not receive WC-supported benefits.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Supported, in part, by a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDDR) (Grant # H133N00024).
authors.affiliation: Liberty Mutual Center for Disability Research, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Hopkinton, MA, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giunti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pransky
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nesathurai
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000191:economics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000191:economics* / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011379:Prognosis; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000191:economics* / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014481:United States; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000191:economics*