US compensation payments for workplace injuries fell by 1.4% nationally in 2005

U.S. workers' compensation payments for medical care and cash benefits for workers disabled by workplace injuries or diseases declined in 2005, according to a study.

Workers' compensation payments for injured workers in California fell by 12.2% in 2005 (the most recent year with data).

Nationally, payments fell by 1.4% to $55.3bn in 2005.

The figures come from a study by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI).

NASI member Christine Baker, who directs the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation, commented: "The reduced spending for benefits and medical care reflects the initial stages of cost containment measures that were put in place in 2003 and 2004 reforms to the California system."