Health care industry employees have filed the majority of workers compensation claims related to COVID-19, according to a study released Wednesday by Mitchell International Inc.
The San Diego-based claims management company analyzed coronavirus-related workers compensation claims through the end of June, finding that 66% of those claims came from health care and social assistance workers, with 7% coming from public administration, 4% from educational services, 4% from manufacturing and 3% from transportation and warehousing. About 16% were defined as coming from “other” industries.
The study also showed an overall decline in claim frequency in the accommodation, food services and retail trade industries as a result of stay-at-home orders.
Mitchell also found that overall workers compensation claims have ticked up in essential industries including health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade from 2018 to 2020, while claims dropped in accommodation and food services during that same period and declined in educational services from 2019 to 2020.
As the pandemic continues, Mitchell researchers said they expect coronavirus-related claims and non-COVID-19 claims to ebb and flow based on state regulations either tightening or loosening stay-at-home restrictions.
This article was first published in Business Insurance.
