Ohio, Washington release COVID-19 claims numbers

Nearly three months after most of the U.S. shut down to control the spread of COVID-19, some workers compensation claims figures are in from monopolistic states.

Since March 11, the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation has received fewer than 500 total claims for workers compensation from COVID-19. The majority of the claims were made by health care workers, first responders and corrections officers.

Among private employers, 36% of COVID-19 claims were denied or dismissed with the rest either accepted or pending. About a quarter of claims made by workers of self-insured employers were rejected with the remainder either certified as compensation claims or pending.

The BWC noted that some of the dismissed claims were withdrawn by injured workers who mistakenly thought they were applying for unemployment.

In Washington state, the Department of Labor & Industries has received a little more than 1,000 COVID-19 related compensation claims. The figure does not include claims made to self-insured employers.

A spokesman for L&I said not all of the claims were made by people who were sick with coronavirus, but were made by people asked to quarantine.

The workers compensation funds in North Dakota and Wyoming did not return calls for information.

More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.