Fewer jobs — or safer workers?

The number of claims for on-the-job injuries fell in South Carolina for the third consecutive year.

The number of jobs in South Carolina fell for the third consecutive year.

Coincidence? Maybe.

The S.C. Workers’ Compensation Commission saw 86,153 new injury cases reported in the 2002-03 budget year, which is 2,000 fewer than three years ago.

The state had 1.79 million jobs, down about 73,000 jobs in three years.

Agency head Alicia K. Clawson sees a relationship between job losses and fewer injury reports, but it is not simple.

“The decline in the number of manufacturing workers has led to a decline in those claims, but we’ve had an increase in other lines of work. Also, we’ve had a construction boom, and those jobs can lead to serious injuries.”

Those injuries led to nearly $572 million paid in medical costs and compensation. That is an increase of 14 percent in the past two years.

South Carolina law requires employers to file a report if an injured worker:

• Receives more than $2,500 in treatment.

• Has a claim denied by the employer or its insurer.

• Misses more than a week of work.

• Is injured permanently.

• Shows a non-surgical scar or serious burn.

The law changed in the 1990s to ease reporting requirements, so “companies don’t have to report every stubbed toe like they used to,” Clawson said.

Hurt workers are paid at two-thirds of their average weekly wage.

The agency’s annual report shows that 89,544 employers bought worker’s compensation insurance in 2002-03, down 7 percent from the previous year. The bad economy, plus the decline in companies selling worker’s comp insurance, contributed to the decline.

The bad economy also can contribute to more worker’s comp cases filed, Clawson said.

In tighter times, she said, workers are more likely to report injuries “in hopes that down the road they might be able to keep their jobs.”

— Chris Roberts