Industrial Insurance Fund Faces Deficit
A surge of injuries in Washington logging camps and mills has overwhelmed the state accident insurance commission, forcing an emergency levy on employers.
An unusual number of accidents in the lumber and shingle mills and logging camps of the state has caused the accident fund to run short in classes 9 and 10, the mill and logging camp classes. The industrial insurance commission Monday reported that those classes had been overdrawn more than $7,000, and in order to meet the emergency an extra call will be made on the employers. The additional call will carry the department through December and January, at the end of which time the 1917 adjustments will be made.
“An unusual number of accidents in the lumber and shingle mills and logging camps of the state has caused the accident fund to run short.”
This early struggle with the economics of workplace safety in Washington's lumber industry highlights the origins of our current state-managed workers' compensation system. It remains a recurring theme that the most dangerous jobs carry the highest risk for both the worker and the stability of the insurance pools meant to protect them.
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