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Safety Pros Agree that Suppression of Workers’ Comp Claims Is Very Common

According to a study by Manitoba’s WCB, workplace injury claim suppression is occurring in that province. The researchers found that there appears to be significant under-claiming of workers’ comp benefits and that claim suppression is a material and germane factor in that under-claiming.

In response to our piece on this study, a reader sent in this feedback:

‘I believe that the method used to get the information in the MB report was flawed. Having been asked to be one of the participants, but never given the chance to participate (apparently there wasn’t enough time to finish) it appears that the report was rushed and was highly subjective. Having worked in H&S in MB for over 25 years, my observation would be that any failure to report would be due to a lack of understanding of the reporting rules, not suppression. To suppress claims, you need some support from the medical community. Don’t know any doctors willing to risk their careers for that.’

So we decided to ask our readers how common you think workers’ comp claim suppression is. The results appear to confirm the Manitoba study’s findings:

  • Very common (55%)
  • Happens occasionally (30%)
  • Is very rare (15%).

Do you have any personal experience with injury claim suppression’ If so, share it with us in the comment section below.