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Compensation System Experience at 12 Months After Road or Workplace Injury in Victoria, Australia

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Abstract

Seeking or receiving compensation after injury is frequently associated with poor recovery. Previous research has shown that the stressful nature of compensation procedures and perceived injustice may cause secondary harm. This study examined compensation system experiences in compensation claimants in Victoria, Australia, and explored the relationship between these experiences and injury outcomes. One hundred and sixty compensable patients (120 male, 75.0 %) aged 18–67 years (M = 43.01, SD = 14.31), hospitalized for an injury in a motor vehicle crash (n = 137) or at work (n = 23), participated. Participants completed questionnaires about compensation system experience, pain, and psychological symptoms 12 months after injury. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the compensation system experience items revealed three components explaining 66.64 % of the variance in compensation experience: (1) “negative procedural experience” (47.29 %), (2) “compensation supported recovery” (10.43 %), and (3) “positive procedural experience” (8.92 %). Worse experience on all components was associated with worse pain (severity, interference, catastrophizing, disability) and psychological symptoms (anxiety, depression, PTSD, perceived injustice). Compensation system experience reflected both negative and positive procedural factors, and feeling supported through recovery. Most participants reported having positive experiences; however, those who were frustrated or stressed from compensation procedures had worse pain and psychological health outcomes. While this association is likely to be bidirectional with “non-recovery” also impacting on compensation experience appraisals, compensation schemes should nonetheless address modifiable sources of procedural injustice (e.g., arduous paperwork and approvals processes) and reinforce procedures that generate perceptions of support (e.g., timely and appropriate access to health services).

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant (LP120200033) in collaboration with the TAC, and a Platform Access Grant from Monash University. MJG was supported by a National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Early Career Fellowship, BG by a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship, and PC by a NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship.

The VSTR is a Department of Health and Human Services, State Government of Victoria and Transport Accident Commission-funded project. The Victorian State Trauma Outcome Registry and Monitoring (VSTORM) group is thanked for the provision of VSTR data. VOTOR is funded by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) via the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR). We acknowledge the contribution of Melissa Hart and Mimi Morgan for recruitment, Susan McLellan for data extraction and injury coding, and Katharine Baker, Amy Allen, Jessica Frisina, and Samantha Finan for data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Liane Ioannou, Jennie Ponsford & Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 99 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia

    Sandra Braaf, Peter Cameron & Melita J. Giummarra

  3. Caulfield Pain Management and Research Centre, Caulfield Hospital, Caulfield, VIC, Australia

    Stephen J. Gibson, Carolyn A. Arnold & Melita J. Giummarra

  4. National Ageing Research Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    Stephen J. Gibson

  5. Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, VIC, Australia

    Jennie Ponsford

  6. Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Monash University, Frankston, VIC, Australia

    Paul A. Jennings

  7. College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Paul A. Jennings

  8. Academic Board of Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, School of Medicine Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Carolyn A. Arnold

  9. Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Melita J. Giummarra

Authors
  1. Liane Ioannou
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  2. Sandra Braaf
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  3. Peter Cameron
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  4. Stephen J. Gibson
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  5. Jennie Ponsford
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  6. Paul A. Jennings
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  7. Carolyn A. Arnold
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  8. Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis
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  9. Melita J. Giummarra
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melita J. Giummarra.

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Conflict of Interest

The project was partly funded by the Victorian Transport Accident Compensation System; however, the TAC played no direct role in participant recruitment, data analysis, or interpretation. The authors provided a copy of the publication to the TAC to allow them to review it and clarify matters relating to compensation system design and background intellectual property; however, the project contract between the administering organization (Monash University) and the TAC emphasized that they could not deny publication of study findings, which were prepared in accordance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Ioannou, L., Braaf, S., Cameron, P. et al. Compensation System Experience at 12 Months After Road or Workplace Injury in Victoria, Australia. Psychol. Inj. and Law 9, 376–389 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12207-016-9275-1

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