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AbstractDespite the considerable time and money spent by various states investigating mounting financial problems in workers' compensation in recent years, we still do not know very much about the causes of the problems. An important reason for this has been that the debate in Australia has suffered from a number of misconceptions and lack of analytical rigour. This article outlines how some basic economics can provide a framework for analysing many issues in the workers' compensation debate. In doing so the analysis casts doubt on a number of conventional wisdoms, particularly the belief that employers pay for workers' compensation and the assumption that current levels of government involvement in worker disability insurance arrangements are justified. In addition, data from New South Wales are presented that suggest the main reason for increased costs is higher income maintenance payment per claim. As with overseas experience, higher benefit levels appear to give workers more incentive to stay away from work and make claims for injuries whose severity is harder to measure.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- About the Author -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Section I Introduction to Accident Investigation -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- Objective -- Workplace Injury and Death Statistics -- Concepts Explained -- Safety -- Proactive Safety versus Reactive Safety -- Occupational Hygiene -- Accident -- Injury -- Acute versus Chronic -- Injury versus Accident -- Injury Severity Luck Factor -- Unintended Loss -- Business Interruption -- Loss of Product and Process -- Environmental Harm -- Accident versus Incident -- Near-Miss Incidents -- Precursors to Accidents -- Potential for Loss -- Near-Miss Incident Luck Factor -- Risk Matrix -- Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) -- Hierarchy of Control -- SMS Controls -- Accident Causation -- Accident Immediate Causes -- High-Risk Condition (Unsafe Condition) -- High-Risk Behavior (Unsafe Act) -- Accident Root Causes -- Acts of Nature -- Personal (Human) Factors -- Job (Workplace and Environment) Factors -- Accident and Near-Miss Incident Investigation -- Effective Accident Investigation -- Near-Miss Incident Investigation -- Conclusion -- Chapter 2 The Philosophy of Safety -- Workplace Health and Safety -- Management Function -- Safety Authority, Responsibility, and Accountability -- Safety Authority -- Safety Responsibility -- Safety Accountability -- Accident Investigation Responsibility -- Management Leadership -- Upstream Health and Safety Management Systems -- Pre-contact -- Contact -- Contact Control -- Post Contact -- Accident Ratio -- Near-Miss Incidents -- Interruptions -- Legal Requirements -- Lessons Learned -- Chapter 3 Accidental Loss Causation Theories -- Accident Causation -- Traditional Cop-Outs -- Contributory Negligence -- Assumption of Risk -- Master and Servant Acts -- Accidents Are Complex Events.

A number of studies presume that illicit drug use and heavy alcohol use increase the risk of work-related accidents and employee turnover. The results of these studies are inconsistent, however, with several reporting a significant association between employee drug use and accidents, and others finding no association. A more consistent result is that drug use is associated with employee turnover, especially an increased risk of termination and resignation. A significant limitation is that most of this research has relied on regional or industry-specific samples. Thus, whether their results generalize to the U.S. workforce is unknown. Using data from a large, representative sample of the U.S. population, we provide a detailed analysis of the relationships among drug use, work-related accidents, and employee turnover. The results indicate that various measures of drug use are not associated with work-related accidents. However, several types of drug use are related to the risk of being fired or resigning from a job in the previous year. Moreover, the risk of being fired varies by occupation.

The aim of this article is to investigate some implications of complexity in workplace risk assessment. Workplace is examined as a complex system, and some of its attributes and aspects of its behavior are investigated. Failure probability of various workplace elements is examined as a time variable and interference phenomena of these probabilities are presented. Potential inefficiencies of common perceptions in applying probabilistic risk assessment models are also discussed. This investigation is conducted through mathematical modeling and qualitative examples of workplace situations. A mathematical model for simulation of the evolution of workplace accident probability in time is developed. Its findings are then attempted to be translated in real‐world terms and discussed through simple examples of workplace situations. The mathematical model indicates that workplace is more likely to exhibit an unpredictable behavior. Such a behavior raises issues about usual key assumptions for the workplace, such as aggregation. Chaotic phenomena (nonlinear feedback mechanisms) are also investigated for in simple workplace systems cases. The main conclusions are (1) that time is an important variable for risk assessment, since behavior patterns are complex and unpredictable in the long term and (2) that workplace risk identification should take place in a holistic view (not by work post).

"Peter Sturm and Jeffrey Oakley provide a concise comparison of accident/incident investigation techniques that can be used to help companies and safety professionals analyze accidents and feel assured that the causes have been properly determined and that corrective actions will prevent reoccurrence. This third edition updates the second edition and covers all aspects of accident investigation from theory to organizing, gathering and analyzing data, to reporting, recommendations, and follow-up. This edition integrates the new research, updates the relevant references, and introduces changes that have occurred and continue to occur as workplace safety and investigations evolve and improve. The authors also reference the only consensus standard focusing on investigating incidents, CSA Z1005:21, Workplace Incident Investigation"--

Introduction: Not your typical day at the office -- The perils of the workplace -- The options for injured workers -- The cultural meanings of workplace accidents -- The paradox of free labor -- Industrial accidents and state power -- Epilogue: the Anglo-American aftermath

This paper explores the correlation between employment protection legislation (EPL) and the rate of workplace accidents, using a theoretical model and data for OECD countries. EPL has been rolled back in most OECD countries since the mid‐80s. In parallel, there has been a decrease in the number of workplace accidents reported, especially non‐fatal ones. We ask the question whether less employment protection could have contributed to the reduction in accident rates, e.g. by reducing workers' willingness to report accidents. To investigate, we build a theoretical model, which suggests that the incentives to report workplace accidents are complex and could even result in a negative relationship between EPL and accident reporting. It is possible, e.g. that labour market reforms reduce job security and incentivise behaviours that bring immediate benefits, like accident reporting. The empirical analysis, using a database of 16 OECD countries, supports the view that the dilution of EPL for regular contracts has increased the rate of accident reporting. This result is robust after controlling for a number of other factors, such as the unemployment rate, economic growth, unemployment benefits, trade union density and temporary work.

AbstractDuring the industrialization period, the rate of workplace‐related accidents increased. Because of the lack of public insurance, mutual health insurance societies became the main providers of workplace accident insurance among workers. Due to large differences in accident risk, health insurance societies were potentially exposed to the risk of adverse selection, since they employed equal pricing for all members regardless of risk profile. This article investigates the impact of workplace accident risk on health insurance selection and outcomes. We employ household budget surveys encompassing urban workers in Sweden during the early twentieth century. We find evidence for a redistribution from low‐ to high‐risk‐exposed workers, as workplace accident risk had a significant and positive impact on receiving health insurance benefits, also when controlling for a variety of factors. Workers exposed to greater risks in the workplace were more likely to have health insurance but did not pay higher premiums. The redistribution from low‐ to high‐risk‐exposed workers was largely accepted and viewed as an act of solidarity between workers. Given that health insurance societies were aware of this redistribution, we argue for the presence of informed, rather than adverse, selection.