Analysis of Thoroughbred horse farm workers' compensation insurance claims in Kentucky: Injury frequency, cost, lost time, and associated occupational factors.

Background: Thoroughbred horse farm workers self-report a high frequency of work-related injuries and pain. However, an analysis of Thoroughbred horse farm workers' compensation injury claims is absent from the literature, yet may benefit worker safety.

Methods: We analyzed workers' compensation insurance firm data containing 2276 claims filed between 2008 and 2015. Injury frequency, cost, and lost time per cause, nature, and body part injured were examined qualitatively and via univariate tests. Factors associated with high cost and high duration lost time claims were modeled via multivariable logistic regression.

Results: The average Thoroughbred worker claim cost $4,198 and accrued 10 days lost time, involving strikes (57% of total claims), sprains/strains (34%), and wrist/hand injuries (18%). Injuries primarily occurred on mornings (54%), weekdays (79%), and during the transition from breeding to sales (23%). Jobs with a high level of horse contact had significantly higher cost ($6,487) and higher duration lost time (16.8 days) claims, with significantly higher cost claims on the weekends ($6,471) and from the oldest workers ($7466), vs reference groups. Logistic models indicate significantly increased odds of a high-cost injury among high horse contact jobs (OR = 1.87; 95% C.I. = 1.53-2.29) and older age tertiles (1.38; 1.08-1.75; 1.70, 1.32-2.18). The odds of a high duration lost time injury are significantly increased among high horse contact jobs (1.91; 1.53-2.39) and males (1.50, 1.13-1.98), with significantly reduced odds among the most tenured workers (0.74; 0.56-0.99).

Conclusions: Our findings elucidate factors to reduce injury frequency, cost, and lost time among Thoroughbred horse farm workers.