Take Home Messages:

There are many risk factors that make individuals more likely to go on long term disability. These include working in the construction or logging industry, back injuries, female gender, having dependants, older age and a previous recent compensation claim.

If there is a delay in filing compensation claims the risk of long term disability is increased. This can occur through poor access, active or perceived discouragement of claims by employers, or when an employee does not belong to a union.

The more time someone spends away from work, the less likely they are to return.

Fast and effective access to medical care for injured workers reduces the risk of long term disability.

Workplace safety inspections reduce long term disability compensation claims and are presumed to reduce workplace injuries.

Unions make compensation claims more common and payouts more likely, but they do not reduce the likelihood of workplace injuries.

Why the research matters: 

At any one time 10% per cent of the population are affected by work related disability. Compensation for work related injuries costs employers billions of dollars.

As well as direct medical costs, work related injury and disability costs are incurred through:

• Lost time at work;
• Replacement employee training;
• Public and private health care; and
• Insurance administration.

Only a small number of work place injuries result in long term disability but these cases are responsible for the majority of incurred costs.

The authors of this study aimed to identify factors that make long term disability more likely in people who have made a new workers’ compensation claim.

By determining these factors they hope to:

• Guide research to prevent long term disability; and
• Identify and suggest strategies to deal with high risk individuals or situations.

What the research involved:

The study looked at 80 000 workers who took more than four days off due to a work related injury and tracked their progress over 6 years.

The authors defined long term disability as 6 or more months of lost time at work for which the employee was compensated.

Summary of research findings:

Predictors of long term disability include:

• Delay between injury and first medical treatment;
• Older age (people over 45 are twice as likely to go on disability as those aged 30 and under);
• Working in the construction or logging industry;
• Back pain/injury that is not related to direct trauma like a crushing injury;
• Small company/firm size;
• Female gender;
• Higher unemployment rate;
• Having dependants; and
• Previous workers’ compensation claim within 5 years of the current claim.

The study also found that as employees spend more time away from work, they become less likely to return.

Longer time from treatment to claim filing also increased the duration of disability. Longer claim times may reduce access to effective treatment.

If employees are discouraged from claiming, they are likely to require longer disability leave.

Many employees have the following concerns about filing disability claims:

• Employer reprisals / punishments;
• Losing their job; and
• Compromised awards offered through employer safety incentive systems.

Using these risk factors it is possible to identify high risk individuals. High risk individuals can then be the targets of interventions aimed at reducing long term disability.

Workers in unions are more likely to:

• Make workers’ compensation claims;
• Make claims for less serious injuries;
• Receive compensation for workplace injuries; and
• Be aware of their rights and have knowledge of claims processes.

Unions do not appear to reduce the likelihood of injuries occurring.

Awareness of risk factors for long term disability can improve workplace safety inspections. Workplace safety inspections reduce the incidence of compensation claims and are assumed to reduce the risk of injury.

Original research:

Prognostic Factors of Long-Term Disability in a Workers’ Compensation System

Stover B, Wickizer TM, Zimmerman F, Fulton-Kehoe D, Franklin G.

J Occup Environ Med. 2007 Jan;49(1):31-40.

 PubMed abstract