In their latest report, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) found that traffic accidents are the leading cause of high-severity workers’ compensation injuries.

The NCCI’s original report from 2006 was updated this month to reflect more current information, and the report revealed some interesting trends.

Key findings

• The frequency of motor vehicle fatalities and injuries has continued to decline since 2006.
• Researchers believe the data reveals that traffic-related injuries are reduced during economic recessions, as a similar pattern was observed during the Great Recession.
• Risk varies by vehicle type.  Although frequency of truck fatalities and passenger vehicle fatalities is nearly the same, nonfatal injuries are more common in passenger vehicles.
• Some of the most common factors for a vehicle-related high-severity workers’ compensation injury include speeding, distracted driving, and impairment.
• The rate of traffic-related injuries declined more than nontraffic-injuries during the economic recession.
• Motor vehicle accidents are more likely to be a “multiple-claim event”, and severity is higher for multiple claim events.
• Not surprisingly, motor vehicle accidents result in more severe claims than an average workers’ compensation claim.
• The top diagnosis for traffic accident claims are neck injuries.

The NCCI updated their information to reflect more recent claims, and they also added claims involving multiple claimants.

Related source:  Insurance Journal