Years of productivity lost among injured workers in Washington state: modeling disability burden in workers' compensation.

BACKGROUND

Few studies have examined the impact of disability from nonfatal work-related injuries and illnesses. We developed Years of Productivity Lost (YPL) as a measure of the burden of disability.

METHODS

YPL was calculated for incident workers' compensation claims with compensable injuries filed in 1986 in Washington State. Final work disability status was determined in June, 1993. We estimated YPL by adding actual accumulated time loss and future lost productivity predicted from permanent partial disability awards and pensions.

RESULTS

Back and neck sprains were associated with the highest YPL followed by sprains of the lower and upper extremities. Using actual accumulated time loss, we calculated 14,624 years of productivity lost for compensable injuries in 1986. After including predicted lost productivity, YPL ranged from 28,017 to 33,502 years.

CONCLUSIONS

YPL can be used to quantify the burden of disability due to occupational injuries and illnesses and to prioritize efforts to prevent long-term disability.