Workers' Compensation Claims Characteristics, Calendar Year 1994

Research & Analysis Section - November 1995

CLAIMS

The Workers' Compensation Division received 31,530 accepted disabling claims in 1994, an increase of 789 claims over the 1993 figure. However, employment increased by 66,200 workers, resulting in a claims rate of 2.3. This claims rate remained steady from the 1993 figure, a record low in Oregon.

Disabling Claims 1985 - 1994

Note on Graph: Employment figures based on data from Oregon Employment Dept.
Claims rates represent the number of claims per 100 workers.
Disabling claims include fatal cases.

Of the 55 work-related fatalities recorded in 1994, 45 of the victims were male, and 10 were female. The youngest was a 17 year-old rock climbing instructor. The oldest was a 71 year-old machine operator.

Oregon Industries, by percent of 1994 Workers' Comp. Claims

Note on graph: Excludes claims in non-classifiable industries.

CLAIMS CHARACTERISTICS

Claims Characteristics

Sprains or strains of the back were, once again, the most common injury in 1994, accounting for 7,801 claims or 24.7 percent of the 31,530 claims accepted as disabling. This represents a decrease of 2.4 percent from the 1993 percentage.

Type of injury or illness

4,606 disabling claims were accepted in 1994 for falls to working surfaces, and 3,860 for overexertion with boxes or containers (1993 figures: 4,722 and 3,773, respectively).

Source of injury or illness

Part of body affected

Occupation of injured Oregon workers
by Percent of 1994 W. C. Claims

Note on table: Excludes 291 claims with unreported occupations.

Injury/Illness Facts Oregon, 1994

• In 1994, Oregon's claims rate remained steady at 2.3 from the 1993 figure, a record low in Oregon.
• Occupational illnesses comprised 10.2 percent of the total number of accepted disabling claims, the highest percentage in the last 14 years.
• Of the total 31,530 claims accepted as disabling in 1994, 10,279 (32.6 percent) were for female workers; 318 (1.0 percent) for workers under age 18; and 259 (0.8 percent) for workers age 65 or over.
• Some 794 workers filed more than one injury or illness claim and had those claims accepted in 1994.
• The average weekly wage at time of injury for 1994 claimants was $402.23, while the average weekly wage for all Oregon workers, excluding federal, was $470.35.
• The highest claims rate (number of claims per 100 workers) was again in the construction industry (4.7), and the lowest rate (0.6) was finance, insurance, and real estate.
• Workers in their first year with an employer filed 11,389 claims, 36.1 percent of the total accepted in 1994.

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA)

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA) offers a wide range of services to Oregon's employers and workers to improve workplace safety and health. These services include:

• Consultations
• Training
• Technical Resources and Film Library
• Educational Grants
• Hazard Abatement Assistance

For information regarding these programs, contact:

OR-OSHA
350 Winter St NE, Rm 300
Salem, Oregon 97310
(503) 378-3272 or 1-800-922-2689
OR-OSHA On-Line

Facts in this leaflet are excerpted from Oregon Workers' Compensation Claims Characteristics, 1994

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