TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Twenty years of workers' compensation costs due to falls from height among union carpenters, Washington State
JO  - American journal of industrial medicine
A1  - Lipscomb, Hester J.
A1  - Schoenfisch, Ashley L.
A1  - Cameron, Wilfrid
A1  - Kucera, Kristen L.
A1  - Adams, Darrin
A1  - Silverstein, Barbara A.
SP  - 984
EP  - 991
VL  - 57
IS  - 9
N2  - BACKGROUND: Falls from height (FFH) are a longstanding, serious problem in construction. <br><br>METHODS: We report workers' compensation (WC) payments associated with FFH among a cohort (n = 24,830; 1989-2008) of carpenters. Mean/median payments, cost rates, and adjusted rate ratios based on hours worked were calculated using negative-binomial regression. <br><br>RESULTS: Over the 20-year period FFH accounted for $66.6 million in WC payments or $700 per year for each fulltime equivalent (2,000 hr of work). FFH were responsible for 5.5% of injuries but 15.1% of costs. Cost declines were observed, but not monotonically. Reductions were more pronounced for indemnity than medical care. Mean costs were 2.3 times greater among carpenters over 50 than those under 30; cost rates were only modestly higher. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Significant progress has been made in reducing WC payments associated with FFH in this cohort particularly through 1996; primary gains reflect reduction in frequency of falls. FFH that occur remain costly. Am. J. Ind. Med. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0271-3586
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22339
ID  - ref1
ER  -