Income Changes Due to Disability Ratings and Participation in Economic Activities Caused by Industrial Accidents: A Population-Based Study of Data from the Fourth Panel Study of Workers’ Compensation Insurance (PSWCI)

Abstract

Industrial accidents cost a huge amount of money, but they also have negative consequences in many respects. We analyzed the data of the first to fourth panel study of workers’ compensation insurance (PSWCI). Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the annual income before and after the industrial accident, and a general linear model was used to identify changes in income due to disability ratings and participation in economic activities. The wages before the industrial accident and the annual income varied among the disabilities ratings. In addition, for affected workers, the average income during four years post-accident was lower than the average income before the accident. Regression analysis to see changes in income after the industrial accident showed that the group with a disability rating of 11–14 and no injuries had a suffered a greater income decrease than those with a disability rating of 1–3, and the unemployment group saw a greater decrease in income than the employment group. Workers who were affected by industrial accidents received lower incomes than before the accident, and even considering different disability ratings, there was a greater decrease in income among the unemployed group than in the working group.

Changes in Income after an Industrial Accident According to Industry and Return-to-Work Status

“…The first panel study was conducted in 2013 and has since been conducted annually. Accordingly, the fifth study obtained survey data during 2017, using a computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) method together with face-to-face interviews conducted by skilled interviewers [2,3,22,23,27,28,29,30]. The fifth survey included 1616 workers who had participated since the first survey, yielding a retention rate of 80%.…”

“…Although the number of Korean workers involved in industrial accidents has declined steadily from 2008 to 2017, the annual number of reported cases continues to exceed 90,000 [1,2,3]. Industrial accidents have various negative consequences, including high social costs and loss of productivity in the workplace [3,4,5,6]. The injured workers also face issues associated with recovery and loss of income [7,8,9].…”

“…If pension is chosen, half of 2 years’ worth of pension can be received in lump sum. Grades 8–14 can only be paid in lump sum [3].…”

“…The direct loss (industrial compensation pay-out amount) from industrial accidents in 2016 in Korea was about 4 trillion won (3.4 billion USD), and the estimated economic loss including indirect loss was about 21 trillion won (17.7 billion USD) [3]. In 2017, the economic losses attributed to industrial accidents totaled approximately 22 trillion won (18.6 billion USD), an increase of 3.64% relative to the previous year.…”

“…Briefly, a return-to-work is easier for workers who are male, younger, and have better health, a low level of disability from injury, a shorter recovery period, better hospital quality and a greater interest in returning to work from the physician [2,17,18,19,20,21,22,23]. Some additional studies evaluated compensation for industrial accidents or the return-to-work and changes in income after industrial accidents [3,10,24,25,26]. However, those studies were based on either the degree of disability after the accident or the status of workers before the accident.…”