Research and Statistics -- DLI statistics

Workers' compensation

Number of workers' compensation claims paid, injury years 1984-2008 [1]

Description

Appendix

A. Number of paid claims (1,000s)

Injury year	Indemnity claims	Medical-only claims	Total claims
1984	40.1	103.2	143.4
1985	39.0	102.7	141.8
1986	37.6	101.1	138.6
1987	39.2	103.3	142.4
1988	42.0	109.8	151.8
1989	42.4	113.1	155.6
1990	42.5	113.2	155.8
1991	42.0	111.2	153.2
1992	39.4	112.8	152.2
1993	37.7	117.1	154.7
1994	37.1	125.5	162.6
1995	34.0	129.2	163.2
1996	33.9	131.6	165.5
1997	33.7	135.1	168.8
1998	32.9	134.9	167.7
1999	34.3	134.0	168.2
2000	34.8	133.4	168.2
2001	31.9	122.4	154.2
2002	29.7	109.6	139.3
2003	27.7	101.2	128.9
2004	26.8	98.7	125.5
2005	26.9	98.6	125.5
2006	25.9	96.9	122.8
2007	25.0	94.0	119.0
2008	24.1	88.5	112.6

1. Indemnity claims figures are from the Department of Labor and Industry claims database. These numbers are "developed," meaning they are estimates (based on observed historical rates of claim development) of what the final numbers will be when claims are mature. Medical-only and total claims are estimated by applying a ratio from insurance data to the indemnity claims figure. Details in Appendix.

B. Number of paid indemnity claims [2]

Injury year	TTD/PTD [3]	TPD	PPD	Stipulated [4]	Total indemnity [5]
1984	37,270	7,517	7,010	4,344	40,144
1985	35,962	8,011	7,134	4,686	39,035
1986	34,240	8,069	7,481	5,032	37,563
1987	35,585	9,628	8,087	5,618	39,158
1988	37,905	11,288	9,394	6,395	41,988
1989	37,734	11,900	10,075	7,277	42,441
1990	37,315	12,899	10,805	7,958	42,548
1991	36,374	13,434	10,840	7,971	41,999
1992	33,577	12,705	10,184	7,584	39,420
1993	32,016	11,804	8,712	6,818	37,669
1994	31,161	11,391	7,592	6,623	37,075
1995	28,616	10,561	6,973	5,704	34,011
1996	28,403	10,475	7,201	5,856	33,875
1997	28,205	10,348	7,249	5,748	33,666
1998	27,573	10,001	7,254	5,507	32,863
1999	28,810	10,157	7,479	5,886	34,265
2000	29,253	10,379	7,704	6,440	34,838
2001	26,683	9,196	7,196	6,142	31,870
2002	24,951	8,580	6,807	5,900	29,728
2003	22,984	7,955	6,512	5,698	27,683
2004	22,391	7,641	6,349	5,726	26,829
2005	22,452	7,718	6,413	5,660	26,893
2006	21,338	7,429	6,214	5,829	25,888
2007	20,587	6,997	5,912	5,862	24,979
2008	19,778	6,993	5,908	5,781	24,099

2. Claims data is from the Department of Labor and Industry claims database. Claims numbers are "developed," meaning they are estimates (based on observed historical rates of claims development) of what the final numbers will be when claims are mature. Details in Appendix.

3. TTD and PTD benefits are not distinguished in the DLI database.

4. Stipulated benefits include both their indemnity and medical components, because the DLI database does not distinguish between them.

5. An indemnity claim may have more than one type of benefit paid. Therefore, the sum of the figures for the different benefit types is greater than the total (or 100 percent).

Source:  Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).