American Companies Underreporting Workplace Injuries

The  U.S. Government Accountability Office (GOA) has issued a report that says that workplace injury statistics in the USA are inaccurate due to underreporting.

The study says that company doctors face pressure to conceal injuries at work – even if it means providing inadequate medical treatment.

GOA surveyed  504 occupational health practitioners , including company doctors and nurses, and found that more than a third said they were asked to provide insufficient treatment to workers so that injuries at work did not appear on company injury logs. Most of the respondees said they were pressured by company officials to downplay injuries or illnesses and over two-thirds said they knew of employees who feared disciplinary action if they reported injuries.

Another factor in underreporting is bonus programs that reward health and safety workers with bonuses if their workplace has no recordable injuries for a period of time.

Companies in the USA are required to record all workplace injuries that result in time off work or medical attention beyond first aid.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) uses the data to target unsafe workplaces.

The benefit for companies of low accident rates include fewer safety inspections, improved competitiveness when bidding for contracts, and lower workers’ compensation insurance costs.

The GOA’s main recommendation was that inspectors must interview staff to ensure that companies are not underreporting.