Medical treatment injuries compensation

In research involving more-than-minimal risk, potential participants must be informed of the availability of medical treatment and compensation for a research-related injury, including who will pay for the treatment and the availability of other financial compensation. Institutions are not required to provide care or payment for research injuries however, some institutions provide hospitalization and necessary medical treatment in an emergency situation. 

Severity is the potential loss when an event occurs. Some express potential losses in human terms, such as loss of life, serious injury, serious illness, number of cancer cases or similar terms. Some express a loss in financial terms. Examples are dollar value of production interruption, cost to replace lost equipment, cost to replace facilities, or cost of medical treatment, pay compensation for those injured or increased insurance premiums. Some express loss in legal terms, such as number of claims or lawsuits and the liability incurred. For a company, a loss can be a reduction in public image or product image or lost market share. 

For research involving more than minimal risk, an explanation as to whether any compensation and an explanation as to whether medical treatments are available if injury occurs and, if so, what they consist of, or where further information may be obtained. 

Manual material handling is a common activity in most occupational environments. Workers handle raw materials, tools, finished materials, containers, and packing materials on a daily basis. Moving objects, regardless of weight, can result in arm, back, and leg strain. The costs of injuries due to material handling are enormous— from both medical treatment and workers compensation. Losses from these injuries are compounded when the days absent from work are factored in. 

A final observation concerns the importance of the nurse in bringing the problem into focus. None of these workers would have dared claim compensation, and so none of the injuries was defined as a lost-time injury. Consequently the problem did not show up in the lost-time injury records which are conventionally used to measure safety performance. These workers did, however, feel able to approach the nurse on the job for painkillers and other palliative treatment. It was only as a result of these treatments that the extent and nature of the problem became evident. It was the medical treatment data which made it clear that something had to be done, and it was the nurse who blew the whistle. In the absence of a site nurse Robbie would presumably have been able to injure and sack several more workers with impunity. 

Workers compensation payments typically cover lost wages and medical treatment. Additionally, if a worker suffers a jjermanent injury, he or she can receive a lump sum payment for the disability under some States workers compensation statutes. The system is "no fault" in that an employee does not have to show or allege that the employer acted negligently or did... 

Compensation Act as regards reporting and case management. None of the businesses who allowed the researcher to interview the injured employee had reported the injury, and the costs of medical treatments were met by public medical insurance (Medicare). 

Of course, a result of the conflict is that differences abound between companies and even different sites within a company. One company records all second-degree bums. Another records only those with blisters over the size of a dime. Another records only those bums with blisters the size of a quarter. Yet another records incidents only when they require medical treatment. One anployer records all allegations that an injury was work related, while another requires clear verification that an injury was work related. Yet another records only those injuries that are also recorded on workers compensation logs. 

Both the absolute numbers and the rates have practical significance. The absolute numbers give measures to the industry and to siKiety in general of the burden of accidents. Experience elsewhere has shown that serious injuries and fatalities are associated with ever increasing costs. Thus, as the cost of medical treatment, compensation, internip-tion of production, payment of fines, etc. will increase in South Africa, the motivation to keep the absolute numbers of accidents as low as possible will increase, (pp. 55-56)... 

H. If, as a result of a work-related injury, you are admitted to a medical care facility for medical treatment and the physician or other licensed health care professional determines you cannot return to regular duty or recommends followup visits, you may use sick time, vacation or comp time. If the claim is accepted by the Utility s Workers Compensation Insurer, the insurer may reimburse your time-lost wages. In this case, the Utility will work with you to exchange the time you have taken for the wages the Utility has paid you. 

Medical Programs. Large chemical plants have at least one hill-time physician who is at the plant five days a week and on call at all other times. Smaller plants either have part-time physicians or take injured employees to a nearby hospital or clinic by arrangement with the company compensation-insurance carrier. When part-time physicians or outside medical services are used, there is Httle opportunity for medical personnel to become familiar with plant operations or to assist in improving the health aspects of plant work. Therefore, it is essential that chemical-ha2ards manuals and procedures, which highlight symptoms and methods of treatment, be developed. A hill-time industrial physician should devote a substantial amount of time to becoming familiar with the plant, its processes, and the materials employed. Such education enables the physician to be better prepared to treat injuries and illnesses and to advise on preventive measures. 

A company s injury history, both the frequency and severity of injuries, is one of the factors determining their workers compensation insurance premiums. Having a revamped safety program will drive down injury rates and, in turn, insurance premiums. But, that is only one of the costs associated with workplace injuries. Others include medical expenses for treatment of the injured and lost productivity. Below are some rather startling findings from a PBS Frontline program based on a University of Michigan Press publication, which examined workplace injury statistics for 1992. 

The medical provider sends a monthly statement to the employer that summarizes all bills that have been submitted to the employees compensation insurance carrier. This summary includes both diagnostic and treatment information. The employer analyzes this information for trends in injuries and illnesses as a way of determining if employees are being exposed to identified hazards, if hazards exist that have not been identified, or if employees need more training about hazards. 

Heinrich s definitions compel the conclusion that any injury requiring more than first-aid treatment is a major injury. When these definitions were developed in the late 1920s, few companies were self-insured for workers compensation. On-site medical facilities were rare. Insurance companies typically paid for medical-only claims and for minor and major injuries. 

A Swiss study examined the epidemiology and costs of work-related bums [18]. These authors found that 4.6 % of all accidents in Switzerland were bums and that 3 % of all work-related accidents were bums. Based on population demographics, they estimated approximately 36,000 bum injuries per year with 5 % of these requiring hospital admission and one-third of those reqniring treatment in a specialized bum center. Of 6,814 bum injuries in 1984, 58 % (3,952) were work related. The total cost for bum care was 17.7 million Swiss Francs, with 19 % for medical care and the rest for other compensation. These anthors did not separate chemical skin injuries from other bum etiologies [18]. 

First aid (OSHA) any one-time treatment and subsequent observation of minor scratches, cuts, bums, and splinters that normally does not require medical care First receiver employees at a hospital engaged in decontamination and treatment of victims who have been contaminated by a hazardous substance(s) during an emergency incident First report a state-mandated workers compensation form used to report work-related injuries and illnesses... 

If the injury or illness is determined to be work-related and Workers Compensation benefits are provided, the Utility s insurance carrier may select a managed care organization. You will be required to seek treatment with a panel-approved medical provider who is familiar and willing to treat occupational injuries. The Utility s insurance carrier will provide an extensive list of local providers for you to choose from. Your primary care physician may/may not be on the panel. 

---