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.