Underreporting of work-related injury or illness to workers' compensation: individual and industry factors.
OBJECTIVE
We quantified the underreporting of work-related injury or illness to workers' compensation (WC).


METHODS
Using data from 2612 wage-earning respondents who participated in the 2002 Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we assessed work-related injury or illness in the previous year and identified the factors associated with WC claim filing by logistic regression.


RESULTS
The self-reported rate of work-related injury or illness of respondents was 13%. Among those who had a work-related injury or illness, 52% filed a WC claim. After adjustment for age, gender, and race, those who filed WC claims were more likely to be overweight and married. WC claim filing varies considerably across industry and occupation groups holding all other measured factors constant.


CONCLUSIONS
Individual and industry/occupation factors are related to underreporting of work-related injury or illness to the WC system.
Fan
Z Joyce
ZJ
Safety & Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP), Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Olympia, Washington 98504-4330, USA. fanj235@lni.wa.gov
Bonauto
David K
DK
Foley
Michael P
MP
Silverstein
Barbara A
BA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009790:Occupations; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*