Assessment of Loss Disabled Work-related Finger, Hand or Arm Disability: On Compensation for Occupational Injuries

Abstract

The purpose of this research on the evaluation of loss disabled work-related finger, hand or arm disability on compensation for occupational injuries aimed to study: 1) lifestyle characteristics of the workers who had occupational loss finger, hand and arm after receiving compensation; 2) variables that affect the compensation base on the worker’s organ, the income of workers before the accident, the income of workers after rehabilitation or receiving compensation and the income of workers and injured work related workers. The samples consisted of 6 groups in area Rayong, Puthumthani, Samutpakran Samutsakon and Bangkok involving 300 workers. Multiple Linear Regression Model was applied for examining occupational loss.

We found that 1) Most workers had somewhat normal physical, mental, spiritual and social health status. They were able to help themselves without the attendants’ assistance apart from the time after the accidents when the workers had just lost their finger or hand. They were not able to familiarize to their self-assistance which they needed time for adaptation. Followed this, the workers agreed that they had worse socio-economic status because of their work limitation of using finger or hand not as usual. These workers had lost their promising work opportunity for earning more income or work promotion which was their socio-economic loss. Moreover, the workers had accepted that they had inferiority complex and shyness of their imperfect body among their colleagues which were undetermined social loss.2) Variables that affect the compensation base on the worker’s organ. We found that 2.1) the compensation paid to the worker was in accordance to the type of organ lost and the worker’s age, 2.2) the income model of the workers before the accident was associated with the worker's gender, education level, age, and work experience, 2.3) the income model of the workers after rehabilitation was associated with the worker's gender, education level, age, and work experience before the accident and 2.4) the income model difference between the wages of regular and degraded workers was associated with the education level and occupation of the former employee. So receiving compensation is not fit loss work-related finger, hand or arm disability.