Workers Compensation: Do Employers Discriminate against Fat People?It's a well-documented fact that obesity is a growing problem. Fat people have an increased risk of many diseases and injuries. According to a recent study conducted by Duke University there is a correlation between body mass index (BMI) and workers compensation and body mass index and costs of healthcare and workers compensation benefits to employers.
Body mass index is an index of obesity. BMI is a measurement of the relative percentages of fat and muscle mass in the human body. It's a comparison of fat to muscle.
Study participants included 11,728 health care and university employees with at least one health risk between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2004. Outcome measures included stratified rates of workers' compensation claims, associated costs, and lost workdays, calculated by BMI, sex, age, race/ethnicity, smoking status, employment duration, and occupational group. The body part affected, nature of the illness or injury, and cause of the illness or injury were also investigated.
And the verdict: There was a clear linear relationship between body mass index and rate of claims. Employees in obesity class III (BMI 40) had 11.65 claims per 100, while recommended-weight employees had 5.80; the effect on lost workdays (183.63 vs. 14.19 lost workdays per 100); medical claims costs ($51,091 vs. $7,503 per 100); and indemnity claims costs ($59,178 vs. $5,396 per 100) was even stronger.
Body mass index was strongly related to the body parts of lower extremity, wrist or hand, and back; pain or inflammation, sprain or strain, and contusion or bruise; and falls or slips, lifting, and exertion.
The combination of obesity and high-risk occupation was particularly harmful.
Are you fat or obese and have been discriminated against workers compensation benefits based of your size? If so, you should contact a law firm that has years of experience representing all kinds of workers compensation cases and fighting for people like you. Contact the Bulldog Lawyers about your weight-related workers compensation claims. We can help! Size does not matter to us.
