Workers comp claims up 14% in L.A. area over last three years

The number of indemnity claims in California has increased in recent years, especially in the Los Angeles area, according to a report released this week by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.

After many years of decline, the frequency of indemnity claims has increased since 2010, with the increase in 2012 “largely isolated to the Southern California area,” according to WCIRB's new “State of the California Workers' Compensation Insurance System” report released Tuesday.

In the last three years, indemnity claims have increased by 19% in Los Angeles County and 14% in the Los Angeles Basin, according to San Francisco-based WCIRB.

“The frequency of permanent partial disability claims — including those involving cumulative injuries or multiple injured body parts — has increased sharply in the Los Angeles area,” the report reads.

Indemnity claim frequency in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the other hand, has decreased by 3% in the last three years, according to the report.

A copy of the report is available on WCIRB's website.