Sun editorial:

Why report an injury?

Workers and employers find plenty of incentives to lie about workplace injuries

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 | 2:07 a.m.

For years the Occupational Safety and Health Administration trumpeted reports that the number of workplace injuries — estimated to be around 1.3 million a year — was decreasing. Under the Bush administration, officials said that was a sign that their approach to workplace safety, which was hands-off, was working.

Those numbers, and the claims made about them, are dubious at best. As we have reported before, many experts believe the way OSHA counts workplace injuries and illnesses is faulty, failing to include millions of accidents. There’s another problem — many workers and employers never report injuries because it’s not worth it to them to do so.

In a report issued to Congress on Monday, the Government Accountability Office detailed many of the disincentives that keep workers and employees from reporting injuries and illnesses suffered on the job.

Workers are often frightened they’ll be fired, disciplined or lose wages from time off if they report injuries. They could also lose bonuses that many companies offer as rewards for good safety records.

Employers sometimes do not report injuries because they don’t want to see an increase in their workers’ compensation insurance costs. Some employers fear losing bids because government and private industry contracts require good workplace safety records. They also may want to avoid increased OSHA inspections and potential fines.

The GAO surveyed 1,187 health care providers and found 53 percent said employers had pressured them to minimize workers’ injuries, and 47 percent said employees had exerted similar pressure, apparently trying to prevent loss of income.

The result is that many people continued to work despite their injuries, which could cause long-term problems. The fact that workplace injuries are skewed means it is difficult to tell where there are problems with workplace safety.

Worker safety isn’t a game. It costs billions of dollars a year in medical expenses and lost productivity, not to mention the human cost. OSHA should do a better job assessing the extent of workplace injuries and then find ways to prevent them.

Discussion: 7 comments so far…

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.

By LarryVegas

Nov. 18, 2009

8:07 a.m.

Suggest removal

Ah... Nothing like a Bush bash in the morning to get you going for the day...
By fremmasmind

Nov. 18, 2009

8:31 a.m.

Suggest removal

This editorial has a sad truth to it. Awhile back I commented on an article about a friend that had damaged two discs in his lower lumbar region. It took the workmans comp. doctors a week and a half to take him off of full duty, which he was put on 2 days after the accident, and put him on light duty. He told me his pain was intense and the first of three doctors he had seen at the same facility had x-rays taken of the area the first time he was taken to the facility. He told me that the doctor told him that outside of a few of his vertebraes showing some collapse from working construction and having to deal with lifting heavy objects. His bones looked fine. The first diagnosis was a muscle strain. After 2 weeks he was taken back to the Doctor and finally they ordered him to get an MRI.
It took over 3 weeks after the accident for him to finally get an MRI, then another week to get the results. The results show 2 discs in the lower lumbar region with slight swelling. If the MRI was taken right after the injury those two discs would have shown a good amount of swelling. After 7 weeks they put him back on full duty and he hadn't even finished his physical therapy or had been released by the doctor. Not even 2 mos. after his accident the contractor gave him a reduction in force. He got fired while the physical therapist wanted him to have more physical therapy sessions as he thought he needed to strengthen his lower back muscles more.
This editorial is right on that contractors don't want to have any work loss accidents on their record. When a worker is hurt and he goes to a workmans comp. physician, the doctor either sends him home with a lost time accident, puts him on light duty or puts him on full duty. In my friends case the doctor masked the severity of the problem just long enough for the swelling to go down.
A lost time accident will hurt the employer, while light duty or full duty could hurt the employee. It's like playing russian roulette. Win some, lose some. Where are the workers rights protected?
By Rhooster

Nov. 18, 2009

9:15 a.m.

Suggest removal

Maybe we need an investigation of OSHA. I suggest a 332 person panel to be convened weekly to let us know WTF is going on. Who is going to be on the panel? I suggest a study group of 600 people to choose this 332 people. See, already I've created over 900 jobs.
By mred

Nov. 18, 2009

9:44 a.m.

Suggest removal

OSHA goes out of their way to find loop holes for employers. We need a Federal takeover.
By SafetyNow

Nov. 18, 2009

11:50 a.m.

Suggest removal

I wonder how long it will take before the media focus will divert itself from OSHA under the Bush administration to OSHA now. Granted OSHA is still a severely flawed system in need of a major overhaul to say the least. Yet rather than taking notice of the dedicated efforts of our current administration and their progress we continue to focus more on OSHA's destruction paying no mind to it's current resurrection. It's been just under seven months since Hilda Solis named Jordan Barab Acting Assistant Secretary of OSHA and in that short time more has been done to restore OSHA than has been done in the past decade. And I for one can't comprehend why the media continues to focus on the past remaining oblivious to the fact that a QUICK FIX is not a possibility nor a remedy in this situation.

Mary Vivenzi
By fremmasmind

Nov. 18, 2009

2:49 p.m.

Suggest removal

Hey people OSHA has nothing to do with an injury during the healing process. They have everything to do with why and how the injury or death happened.
Workmans comp and the doctors they cover have everything to do with cover-ups of the injury, not being timely soon after the accident proving how severe the injury is. They cloud the injury as the injury heals so the employers insurance does not go up among other things. They release the injured to light duty so they don't stay home to heal making sure they don't become a loss time accident. I've heard bad jokes like the man that lost his leg in an accident and the doctor fitted him a prostethus that day and told him he is released to light duty.
There's no sympathy for the injured.