| Year Funded: 2011 | Budget: $60,450.00 | Funding Agency: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario |
|---|---|---|
| Title: | Examining Individual and Workplace Factors which Differentiate Injuries that Result in Wage Replacement from Those that Do Not | |
| Category: | Compensation, Disability Management and Return to Work | |
| Subcategory: | Compensation, Disability Management and Return to Work | |
| Keywords: | Injury, No-lost-time claims, Lost-time claims | |
| Link to research website: | www.iwh.on.ca | |
Issue:
Whether an injury results in time off work or not has important implications in Ontario. Recent reports have suggested that differences between lost-time claims (LTCs) and no-lost-time claims (NLTCs) have become increasingly blurred in Ontario due to the increased use of workplace accommodation, or claims management practices (e.g. returning injured workers to the workplace before they are able or not reporting time lost from work). A better understanding of whether NLTCs are becoming more similar to LTCs – or if there are factors outside of the injury itself that preferentially lead to no time off work being reported – have been hampered by the lack of information being electronically stored with NLTCs.
Objectives:
This project will address this knowledge gap by matching NLTCs where detailed information has been collected, to LTCs in the WSIB administrative database to compare the types of injuries submitted as NLTC and LTC among similar types of employers over three time periods (1996, 2000 and 2005); and to examine what characteristics of workers and workplaces are associated with an injury being LTC versus a NLTC among similar types of injuries.
Anticipated Results:
The research completed as part of this protocol will generate new knowledge and a greater understanding of what existing and future trends in NLTCs versus LTCs demonstrate in respect to primary versus secondary prevention of workplace injuries in Ontario. It will also allow one of the first examination of whether workplace factors such as premium payments or workplace size, or individual factors such as age, occupation and job tenure, are associated with having time off work (or not) following a similar type of injury.
Investigators:
Peter M. Smith (Institute for Work & Health)
