Staff writer
Sixty percent of Marion County’s workers compensation claims are from the county’s road and bridge department, which is typical.
Carl Eyman, loss prevention specialist with Kansas Workers Risk Cooperative for Counties (KWORCC), told Marion County Commission Monday that county road departments typically carried the majority of losses. The county department had $180,000 in claims.
Law enforcement (sheriff’s department) had 18 percent of the total claims in the county with KWORCC paying $10,000 in claims, and noxious weed department had 10 percent of the claims with $100,000 paid in claims.
Eyman showed the amounts of premiums compared with the amounts of losses each year since 2002, when the county joined the pool.
The year with the highest amount of losses was 2006 when the county claimed $132,556 in worker’s compensation. The 2007 premium for the county was $129,128 for the year to cover those losses.
The county’s experience module, which is used to determine the county’s premium amount, has been reduced from 1.14 in 2007 to .98 in 2008.
There were seven losses collected in 2008. Eyman said employees should always report on-the-job injuries. The information then can be used to review trends and efforts can be made to reduce or eliminate future injuries.
Other sizeable claims included $110,000 paid in 2006 because a road and bridge department employee had strained his back while shoveling asphalt. The second highest claim was in 2004, when an employee in the noxious weed department had a motor vehicle accident which resulted in a neck and back injury and $78,911 were paid in claims.