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The recent article in the ARCHIVES entitled "Occupational Injury and Illness in the United States" by Leigh et al¹ is quite accurate in assessing the costs of occupational injuries and illnesses. It also emphasizes the paucity of public attention that is given to this problem despite the tremendous drain that occupational injury and illness places on our societal and economic resources. However, I was surprised to find that the article completely omitted any reference to the inefficiencies, waste, and not infrequent fraud that are inherent in the present system of workers' compensation.

When the workers' compensation statutes were first promulgated, they were based on the legal principle of "exclusive remedy." According to this principle, an injured employee would agree not to sue the employer because of a work-related injury, and in return, the injured employee would receive total reimbursement for any and all medical costs incurred, as well as full . . . [Full Text of this Article]