title: Workers' compensation claims not reported in the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Injury and claim characteristics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Underreporting in the nation's primary source of non-fatal occupational injury and illness data are well documented, but worker-level characteristics of unreported cases have not been fully explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) data were linked to Washington workers' compensation claims to identify injury and claim characteristics associated with unreported cases. Workers' compensation administrative date data were used to characterize timing of disability and SOII case eligibility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on claim date data, one in five lost time claims with an injury date in the survey year were likely ineligible for SOII case reporting during the survey year. Among SOII-eligible claims, those involving sprains or strains, employer protests, and those not eligible for work disability payments until months after the initial injury were least likely to be reported in SOII.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SOII case capture is limited both by its cross sectional survey design and employer underreporting. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:264-275, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP), Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Olympia, Washington.
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Wuellner
authors.affiliation: Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP), Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Olympia, Washington.
authors.forename: Darrin A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP), Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Olympia, Washington.
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Bonauto
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007344:Insurance Claim Reporting / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; surveillance; under-reporting; work-related injuries; workers’ compensation data