Claims involving degenerative back conditions tended to be among the most costly, at an average of $120,000 in medical and indemnity payments, according to a study released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
WCRI studied “high-cost” shoulder and back injury claims, described as those that hit $100,000 or just below, and found that 42% of degenerative back claims fell into that category. Thirteen percent of disc disorder claims, 10% of neurological back claims and 1% of claims for sprains, strains and “nonspecific” back pain were “high-cost.”
Neurological back pain and rotator cuff injuries were the two most common categories to have high costs and represent between 30% and 38% of all claims studied.
The study also found that back claims involving surgery were eight to nine times more likely to fall into the category of high-cost claims.
A back or shoulder claim involving a degenerative condition is 58% more likely to be classified as high-cost, the study found.
WCRI said the study involved about 194,000 workers comp claims in which more than seven days were lost and involved injuries between Oct. 1, 2015, and March 31, 2019, with treatment and billing data tracked for up to three years after the injury.
This article was first published in Business Insurance
