Study: Workers’ Comp Systems Lose Billions To Misdiagnoses

As much as a fifth of medical diagnoses in workers’ compensation claims involve errors that cost workers’ compensation systems billions, a 10-year study from a medical consulting service found. Best Doctors, a leading medical consultation service in Boston, released a report Wednesday that found in an estimated 250,000 workers’ compensation injuries, 21 percent of those cases involve a misdiagnosis and/or inappropriate treatment. In the top five percent of the most expensive workers’ compensation claims, the error rates are estimated to be as high as 50 percent.