The relationship between compensable status and long-term patient outcomes following orthopaedic trauma.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship between compensable status in a "no-fault" compensation scheme and long-term outcomes after orthopaedic trauma.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study within two adult Level 1 trauma centres in Victoria, Australia.


METHODS
Blunt trauma patients aged 18-64 years, admitted between September 2003 and August 2004 with orthopaedic injuries and funded by the no-fault compensation scheme for transport-related injury, or deemed non-compensable.


METHODS
12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and return to work or study at 12 months after injury.


RESULTS
Of 1033 eligible patients, 707 (68.8%) provided follow-up data; 450 compensable and 247 non-compensable patients completed the study. After adjusting for differences across the groups (age, injury severity, head injury status, injury group, and discharge destination) using multivariate analyses, compensable patients were more likely than non-compensable patients to report moderate to severe disability at follow-up for the physical (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.0; 95% CI, 1.3-2.9), and mental (AOR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.5) summary scores of the SF-12. Compensable patients were less likely than non-compensable patients to have returned to work or study, even after adjusting for injury severity, age, head injury status and discharge destination (AOR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3-0.9).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients covered by the no-fault compensation system for transport-related injuries in Victoria had worse outcomes than non-compensable patients.
Gabbe
Belinda J
BJ
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Cameron
Peter A
PA
Williamson
Owen D
OD
Edwards
Elton R
ER
Graves
Stephen E
SE
Richardson
Martin D
MD
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D015331:Cohort Studies; D035881:Compensation and Redress; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D018868:Insurance, Disability; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000293:injuries*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D016896:Treatment Outcome