MVAs Grab More of Lost-Time Claims

While motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) account for only 5% of workers compensation lost-time claims, they account for 10% of their benefit costs, a sum that’s increased in the past 10 years, according to NCCI.
This difference in the share of claims versus losses exists because MVAs are the most expensive type of workers compensation lost-time claim, costing over $100,000 on average, or 70% more than the average lost-time claim.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost one-third of jobs require some amount of driving, meaning the workforce has significant exposure to MVAs.
Factors driving the outsized share of losses from MVAs include: crash physics, complex injuries, multiple claimants and third party involvement.
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In a hard-hitting, fact-based editorial in our sister publication Workers’ Comp Executive, publisher Dale Debber encourages California Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto AB 1329. The proposed legislation does absolutely nothing to address the current multi-billion-dollar time bomb facing California’s Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF), and, in fact, adds another $21 billion.
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AI has been helpful in streamlining the workers compensation claim process, wrote Alan Brackett, a contributing columnist on workers’ compensation law for Reuters Legal News and Westlaw Today.
“While AI can be valuable in improving the efficiency of claims, we will still need the human touch to effectively resolve them. The current technology is not developed enough to make any actor in the workers’ compensation scheme obsolete,” Brackett wrote.
He said that as these claims typically involve sensitive documents, including medical records, employment data, and personal identifying information, AI users will need to ensure their compliance with privacy laws.
Another challenge involves breaches of information or documents, which will require the implementation of software safeguards to protect sensitive information.
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Canada’s Nova Scotia plans to boost benefits for injured workers in 2027, bringing rates in line with the rest of the country, while simultaneously cutting the premium it charges employers.
The province has lowest compensation for injured workers in the country.
Karen Adams, CEO of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, said the changes are possible because the system is now in good financial health, after three decades of being underfunded.
The cost-of-living adjustment will go up from 50% to 100% of the consumer price index, to a maximum of 3% per year.
Adams would not say how much employer rates will go down.
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