In their latest report, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) found that traffic accidents are the leading cause of high-severity workers’ compensation injuries.
The NCCI’s original report from 2006 was updated this month to reflect more current information, and the report revealed some interesting trends.
Key findings
- The frequency of motor vehicle fatalities and injuries has continued to decline since 2006.
- Researchers believe the data reveals that traffic-related injuries are reduced during economic recessions, as a similar pattern was observed during the Great Recession.
- Risk varies by vehicle type. Although frequency of truck fatalities and passenger vehicle fatalities is nearly the same, nonfatal injuries are more common in passenger vehicles.
- Some of the most common factors for a vehicle-related high-severity workers’ compensation injury include speeding, distracted driving, and impairment.
- The rate of traffic-related injuries declined more than nontraffic-injuries during the economic recession.
- Motor vehicle accidents are more likely to be a “multiple-claim event”, and severity is higher for multiple claim events.
- Not surprisingly, motor vehicle accidents result in more severe claims than an average workers’ compensation claim.
- The top diagnosis for traffic accident claims are neck injuries.
The NCCI updated their information to reflect more recent claims, and they also added claims involving multiple claimants.
Related source: Insurance Journal
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