The cost of work-related physical assaults in Minnesota

Objective. To describe the long-term productivity costs of occupational ass aults. Data Sources/Study Setting, All incidents of physical assaults that resulte d in indemnity payments, identified from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) Workers' Compensation system in 1992. Medical expenditur es were obtained from insurers, and data on lost wages, legal fees, and per manency ratings were collected from DLI records. Insurance administrative e xpenses were estimated. Lost fringe benefits and household production losse s were imputed. Study Design. The human capital approach was used to describe the long-term costs of occupational assaults. Economic software was used to apply a modi fied version of Rice, MacKenzie, and Associates' (1989) model for estimatin g the present value of past losses from 1992 through 1995 for all cases, an d the future losses for cases open in 1996. Principal Findings. The total costs for 344 nonfatal work-related assaults were estimated at $5,885,448 (1996 dollars). Calculation of injury incidenc e and average costs per case and per employee identified populations with a n elevated risk of assault. An analysis by industry revealed an elevated ri sk for workers employed in justice and safety (incidence: 198/100,000; $19, 251 per case; $38 per employee), social service (incidence: 127/100,000; $2 4,210 per case; $31 per employee), and health care (incidence: 76/100,000; $13,197 per case; $10 per employee). Conclusions. Identified subgroups warrant attention for risk factor identif ication and prevention efforts. Cost estimates can serve as the basis for b usiness calculations on the potential value of risk management intervention s.