White construction workers in Illinois get higher workers' comp settlements, study finds
White non-Hispanic construction workers are awarded higher workers' compensation settlements in Illinois than Hispanic or black construction workers with similar injuries and disabilities, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.
The disparity amounted to approximately $6,000 more for white non-Hispanic claimants compared to minority workers in the same industry, says Lee Friedman, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at UIC and lead author of the study, which was published in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The researchers assessed ethnic disparities among construction workers injured on the job by linking medical records data from the Illinois Department of Public Health and workers' compensation data from the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission between 2000 and 2005.
The researchers evaluated a total of 1,039 cases (68 black, 168 Hispanic, 724 white and 79 other ethnicities.)
This video is not supported by your browser at this time.
The settlements for white workers were substantially higher, despite controlling for average weekly wage, type of injury, injury severity, weeks of temporary disability, percent permanent partial disability, and whether or not the worker used an attorney—all factors that are known to contribute to the final decision for monetary compensation in the claims process.White non-Hispanic construction workers were consistently awarded higher monetary settlements despite the fact that the mean percent permanent partial disability was equivalent to or lower than that in black and Hispanic construction workers, according to the study's authors. This was true for amputations, torso injuries, open wounds of the upper extremity and traumatic brain injury.
The most common types of injuries for all workers were fractures, internal injuries, and open wounds.
The study does not explain why white non-Hispanic construction workers would receive higher compensation, Friedman said.
"One explanation is that there is some systemic bias or prejudices occurring within the system," he said. "Or, it could be that the level of information and knowledge about how the system works—and what can actually be litigated, disputed, or requested for compensation—might vary by ethnic group."
Journal reference:
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Provided by
University of Illinois at Chicago
-
Severity of Injury, Not Legal Fees, Drives Cost of Workers' Compensation
Dec 04, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Workers' compensation ratings don't accurately predict disabilities
Dec 19, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Most occupational injury and illness costs are paid by the government and private payers
May 25, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New study examines injuries to US workers with disabilities
Aug 06, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Workers make fewer claims for psychological illnesses
Aug 23, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
New rice contamination reported in China
Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country's largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal.
Health
34 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Warning images for cigarette packs do not make a strong enough emotional impact
The warning images Brussels proposes to include on tobacco packages in order to reduce consumption do not make the desired impact on smokers because they only find some of them really unpleasant. So, if the ...
Health
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
Cancer and birth defects in Iraq: The nuclear legacy
Ten years after the Iraq war of 2003 a team of scientists based in Mosul, northern Iraq, have detected high levels of uranium contamination in soil samples at three sites in the province of Nineveh which, coupled with dramatically ...
Health
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
Dirty jokes the best medicine
When it comes to men's sexual health, dirty jokes may just be the best medicine. A QUT researcher is helping Family Planning Queensland (FPQ) use comedy and YouTube to deliver sexuality education to young ...
Health
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Salt consumption in India: The need for data to initiate population-based prevention efforts
(Medical Xpress)—International researchers are studying the salt intake of Indian adults to provide vital new data to aid the development of a national salt reduction strategy.
Health
3 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Study shows where scene context happens in our brain
In a remote fishing community in Venezuela, a lone fisherman sits on a cliff overlooking the southern Caribbean Sea. This man –– the lookout –– is responsible for directing his comrades on the water, ...
Monoclonal antibody appears effective and safe in asthma Phase IIa trial
A novel approach to obstructing the runaway inflammatory response implicated in some types of asthma has shown promise in a Phase IIa clinical trial, according to U. S. researchers.
New tumour-killer shows great promise in suppressing cancers
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Lund University, Sweden, have bioengineered a novel molecule which has been proven to successfully kill tumour cells.
Analgesics prescribed more heavily to women than to men, study finds
Regardless of pain, social class or age, a woman is more likely to be prescribed pain-relieving drugs. A study published in Gaceta Sanitaria (Spanish health scientific journal) affirms that this phenomenon is inf ...
New factor to control oncogene-induced senescence
An article published on the journal Nature describes the major role that Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) —an enzyme of cellular energy metabolism— plays in the regulation of the cellular senescence induce ...
Exercise levels may predict hospitalizations in COPD population
Clinical measurement of physical activity appears to be an independent predictor of whether or not patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will end up being hospitalized, according to a new study conducted ...