April 1, 2024
Rising temperatures are causing problems for workers in industries such as construction, warehousing and transportation, and heat-related workers compensation claims are increasing as a result, experts say.
As more claims are submitted, claims professionals are stepping up investigations to determine whether they are compensable.
Safety advocates, meanwhile, are urging the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to finalize a workplace safety standard that addresses the potential for heat-related injuries (see related story below).
Heat-related workplace risks are expected to increase, as insurers “across the country have identified climate change as an emerging concern,” said Patrick Coate, an economist with the Boca Raton, Florida-based National Council on Compensation Insurance, which is researching the connection between weather severity and increased worker injuries.
Insurers manage heat-related workers comp claims much like other injury claims, with investigations of causation and early treatment.