Workers Comp Programs Fight Addiction Among Injured Workers

Meet a victim of the nation’s opioid addiction scourge: the American worker. A number of U.S. states are taking steps through their workers compensation systems to stem the overprescribing of the powerful painkillers to workers injured on the job, while helping those who became hooked to avoid potentially deadly consequences. Injured workers, like so many others dealing with pain, are often prescribed opioids like OxyContin and Vicodin. "I was eating them up like they were candy," said Jimmy Duran, of Boston, who was prescribed opioids for years after hurting his neck and fracturing vertebrae in a workplace accident in 2004.