By Zack Craft, ATS, ATP, CAPS, RRTS
Workplace accidents resulting in permanent disabilities are the most expensive workers' comp claims. Fortunately, only about 1.1 percent of workers' comp indemnity claims involve permanent disability.
However, these cases represent 11.4 percent of the costs of claims, according to a 2005 study by the National Council of Compensation Insurers titled "Demographic Factors to Consider: Calculating Lifetime Awards on Workers' Compensation Claims," by John Robertson and Dan Corro.)
The high medical cost of permanent disability claims comes as no surprise. Most insurance companies provide for a lifetime award to compensate injured workers for lost wages but continue to pay medical costs for the life of the claimant. The injuries are usually complex--defined as involving more than one body system and separate diagnoses, physicians and treatments for each system. Permanent disability claims usually require home healthcare services and products, including big-ticket items, like power chairs, home modifications and vehicle modifications.