Objective: Examine uses of US workers' compensation (WC) data for occupational safety and health purposes. Methods: This article is a summary of the proceedings from an invitational workshop held in September 2009 to discuss the use of WC data for occupational safety and health prevention purposes. Results: Workers' compensation data systems, although limited in many ways, contain information such as medical treatments, their costs and outcomes, and disability causes that are unavailable from national occupational surveillance sources. Conclusions: Despite their limitations, WC records are collected in a manner consistent with many occupational health and safety surveillance needs. Reports are available on the use of WC data for surveillance and research purposes such as estimating the frequency, magnitude, severity, and cost of compensated injuries. Inconsistencies in WC data can limit generalization of research results.

iv ForewordThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the Federal agency responsible for occupational safety and health research.In collaboration with its many partners, NIOSH is committed to the collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of data describing the prevalence of disease and health risk factors among workers in the United States.The National Academies has urged greater use of injury and illness data at the national level to identify priorities, focus resources, and evaluate prevention program effectiveness.The Occupational Research Group at the University of Miami is illustrative of an

OBJECTIVE:Provide descriptive statistics and discuss priorities for injury and fatality risks among services sector workers.METHODS:Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data for 2003 to 2007 were analyzed to identify occupational injury and fatality risks for services sector industry groups.RESULTS:Many services sector industry groups experienced, on average, greater than one occupational fatality per week, and survey of occupational injuries and illnesses days-away-from-work rates in excess of those for all US workers. Overall, transportation incidents and homicides are leading factors contributing to fatalities.CONCLUSIONS:These results indicate the need for adoption of safety and health prevention practices in numerous industry groups. For groups that experience elevated injury and fatality rates, priorities for research and intervention can be identified through these data.

BackgroundIn every State except Texas, nearly all employers are required to have WC insurance for: (1) payment of medical expenses resulting from occupational injuries and some specified occupational illnesses; and (2) partial replacement of workers' lost wages.Each State legislature and the District of Columbia establish workers' compensation requirements with significant variations.For example, states vary in the coverage of compensable occupational illnesses, levels of payments for partial and total disability, both temporary and permanent, and the minimum days away from work to qualify for wage compensation.In many States, employers with small numbers of employees and other groups, such as farm employers, are exempt from coverage requirements.All WC insurance programs use their data primarily to pay claims to medical providers and disabled workers.Insurance carriers use an array of proprietary data systems.Most WC insurance carriers are private entities.Partial state funds exist in 21 States and exclusive state insurance programs are found in North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming.There are typically many private carriers in each State.Large employers in the U.S. are often self-insured under regulations established by each State.Carriers are required to provide government agencies with claims information that is used for administrative purposes such as oversight, hearings for adjudication of disputes and other matters.For public health purposes, WC data for acute injuries are far more complete and representative of population risks than are occupational illness data.Some investigators have used limited WC data to estimate the frequency, magnitude, severity, and cost of compensated injuries and to examine trends over time.