The New Year has come and gone, the first quarter of 2021 is well underway, but according to a recent California Workers’ Compensation Institute report, Covid-19 has not shown any sign of relenting. On the contrary, numbers leading up to the 11th of January indicate an alarming spike in coronavirus related claims stemming from the last quarter of 2020. The data shows that Covid-19 claims tripled between October and November – then saw another increase of nearly 65% in December (roughly 24,000 cases).
Totals are likely to climb even more, as claims that have not yet been filed or reported are included in the data. According to the report, Covid-19 claims started to increase in October after registering the lowest number of cases in September, culminating in a last quarter push that saw the total number of coronavirus-related claims for 2020 hit 93,470. That equates to almost 16% of all workplace injury claims reported in the Golden State.
All told, the full Covid-19 workers’ comp claim report lists down 464 deaths, making up almost 40% of all work-related deaths recorded in California for the year 2020. As the workers’ compensation system continues to conclude their studies on 2020, it is estimated that November numbers will reach up to 16,872 claims, while December is expected to rise all the way up to 37,573 claims – a far cry from the 15,537 claims that were previously projected.
Although it seems that the coronavirus will continue to play a major role in our lives, at least for now, our service to the American people must go on. Stay tuned for more updates about the California Workers’ Compensation system and come to TukkoMed for all your QME needs.