Nurses Affected by Back Pain in Disproportionate Amounts

Back pain is one of the most common ailments that people suffer from, landing people in the doctor's waiting room for this reason over any other with the exception of colds and upper respiratory illnesses. In fact, statistics indicate that more than six million people see physicians each year due to back pain. Frequently, these trips to the doctor are a result of improper lifting. It's a primary injury not just to the population in general, but in particular affecting industrial workers and caregivers. According to studies, nurses are second only to employees in the heavy industry field for back pain ailments, which can trigger expensive nursing home workers compensation claims.

When people are assailed by back pain, it's not only a painful process but also an expensive one. Medical fees, the amount of lost wages, and the cost to rehabilitate injured workers adds up to untold amounts, but insurers indicate that the costs exceed more than a staggering $11 billion annually in terms of reimbursed medical claims and payment for lost wages for back pain alone. This amount is further amplified when one considers the time lost in production, administrative fees, and the amount of time necessary to find and train replacements for the employees who are out with a back injury.

9 Tips For Flying Through A Workman's Compensation Insurance Audit

Depending on your policy anniversary date, it may be time to prepare for your annual workman comp audit. Please find below 9 helpful tips for preparing for your workman's compensation insurance audit. The number one goal is to be prepared and save yourself time and anguish! The audits certainly go by faster when you have all of the information prepared ahead of time.

1. Verification - the auditor will need to verify your business name, address, tax id, and all business address locations.

2. The auditor will need a brief description of your operations.

3. How is the company formed? Is your company a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or incorporated. The auditor will need to know each owner's name, title, duties, and wages.

4. Group your employees into classes. For example, if you own a restaurant the majority of the staff will fall into the restaurant category, but you would want to classify the bookkeeper as clerical. You will want to group their gross payroll into these classes. Then, you will also need to know the dollar amount of overtime that was worked by class as well as the dollar amount of vacation/holiday pay.

How To Buy Workers Compensation Insurance In Maryland

By the early 1990's, all states had at least some sort of protection for people hurt while on the job. This protection, however, was very limited in that the process of filing a lawsuit against an employer was difficult and very time consuming. Negligence by the employer was almost impossible to prove and the legal aspect was complicated and expensive; these auxiliary overheads coming at a time during which no benefits were awarded to the injured workers out of their jobs. Because of this, workers' compensation (also workman's compensation or workman's comp) laws were passed, providing a legal solution to the problem. Workers' compensation was a new kind of insurance which all employers were required to obtain to protect their employees.

In determining whether or not an injury falls under the coverage blanket of workers' compensation, there first has to be an established and genuine employee-employer relationship. The laws only protect employees. For example, neither a person working as an independent contractor with a business, nor the individuals in a partnership would be protected by the law. People in these categories (and others not mentioned) can elect to follow the statutory procedure necessary should they wish to obtain the insurance.

Use Ergonomics to Drive Down Workers Comp Costs

Working at a busy tire dealership is a demanding job. Employees are typically surrounded by moving cars and trucks, heavy parts, sharp objects, dangerous machinery, and slippery surfaces due to all manner of fluids and oils that leak from vehicles. The simple act of bending and straightening to install tires day in and day out can be very taxing on the body, let alone the stress involved in hoisting heavy tires on and off a vehicle.

Ergonomics is the study of workplace equipment in order to reduce injury or discomfort and thus improve productivity. It's important to apply ergonomics when possible in the workplace to help reduce the instances of cumulative trauma disorder, which is a type of injury that occurs due to the stress of repetitive motions. Training employees to perform their tasks with an ergonomic focus can help limit the number of injuries sustained on the job, which can in turn help tire dealerships lower their workers compensation premiums. Here are some of the common workplace risk factors that can cause damage or injury to the musculoskeletal system; many if not all of them are typically present at a tire dealership: