The deep recession in Michigan is impacting the workers’ compensation system there as some costs per claim rose slowly, according to a new study, CompScope™ Benchmarks for Michigan, 12th Edition, by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). Amid recessionary pressures, indemnity costs per claim—payments for lost wages— grew modestly between 2008 and 2009, rising 3.4 percent. This was less than the typical six percent increase of the 16 states in the national study.