title: Incidence of workers compensation indemnity claims across socio-demographic and job characteristics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We hypothesized that low socioeconomic status, employer-provided health insurance, low wages, and overtime were predictors of reporting workers compensation indemnity claims. We also tested for gender and race disparities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Responses from 17,190 (person-years) Americans participating in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 1997-2005, were analyzed with logistic regressions. The dependent variable indicated whether the subject collected benefits from a claim.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Odds ratios for men and African-Americans were relatively large and strongly significant predictors of claims; significance for Hispanics was moderate and confounded by education. Odds ratios for variables measuring education were the largest for all statistically significant covariates. Neither low wages nor employer-provided health insurance was a consistent predictor. Due to confounding from the "not salaried" variable, overtime was not a consistently significant predictor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Few studies use nationally representative longitudinal data to consider which demographic and job characteristics predict reporting workers compensation indemnity cases. This study did and tested some common hypotheses about predictors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: J Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Leigh
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003710:Demography; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult