TribBlog: Injured on the Job

If you're going to get injured on the job, you'd be better off doing it outside of Texas.

A 10-state review by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report — found that 47 percent of Texans injured at work had their medical bills paid by workers' compensation. That's lower than any other state in the "Survey of Occupational Injury and Illness." (In Kentucky, for example, 77 percent of injured workers reported having their bills covered. In California, it was 61 percent.)

The study's authors noted several reasons workers' compensation coverage could vary, including "state-specific exclusions" for specific occupations and for small employers. "In Texas," the report notes, "employers may choose not to have workers' compensation insurance." In some states, an injured worker might be covered by workers' compensation, but a particular injury might not qualify for it.

Texas' on-the-job injuries ranked in the middle of the 10-state lineup; for every 100 employed people, six reported being injured on the job.