Article
The Workers' Compensation System: Worker friend or foe?
Article first published online: 12 MAR 2004
DOI: 10.1002/ajim.10356
Copyright © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
1097-0274/asset/cover.gif?v=1&s=e0f33b687598b5adbbbced84abe7a827fb4a7d56 "American Journal of Industrial Medicine")
Additional Information
How to Cite
Strunin, L. and Boden, L. I. (2004), The Workers' Compensation System: Worker friend or foe?. Am. J. Ind. Med., 45: 338–345. doi: 10.1002/ajim.10356
Publication History
- Issue published online: 12 MAR 2004
- Article first published online: 12 MAR 2004
- Manuscript Accepted: 19 DEC 2003
Funded by
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Grant Number: R01-CCR112141-01
- Abstract
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- workers' compensation;
- injured worker experiences;
- qualitative methods
Abstract
Background
The workers' compensation system was designed to help injured workers who have substantial medical expenses and perhaps have lost a great deal of income. This study determines both similarities and differences in how workers experience their interactions with the workers' compensation systems in Florida and Wisconsin.
Methods
Ethnographic open-ended interviews with 204 workers from Florida and 198 workers in Wisconsin were conducted. All the workers had back injuries in 1990 and were either paid workers' compensation temporary disability benefits for at least 4 weeks or received permanent disability benefits or compromise settlements.
Results
Some interactions with the workers' compensation system were positive. However, the majority of respondents in both states experienced their encounters with the workers' compensation system as cumbersome, frustrating, and demeaning.
Conclusions
Mistrust, stigmatization, payment delays, and refusal of insurer personnel to pay benefits contribute to workers' negative experiences with the workers' compensation system. These insurer behaviors raise the costs to injured workers of workers' compensation benefits and thus may reduce the propensity of eligible workers to apply for benefits. Am. J. Ind. Med. 45:338–345, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.