Determining injury at work on the California death certificate

This study examined decisions of California Country Coroner's offices in determining injury at work and identified factors influencing this decision.

Surveys were sent to California County Coroner's offices (response rate = 93%). The survey included 23 vignettes that required the respondent to determine whether the fatality involved an injury at work. The Rasch method was used to determine internal consistency in endorsing vignettes and to determine overall endorsability of vignettes based on underlying factors.

Respondents showed internal consistency but much disagreement in their endorsement of vignettes. Decedents who were performing paid work or were on their work site during working hours were almost unanimously endorsed as having incurred an injury at work. Non-payment, travel/transportation, suicide, and nontraditional work sites and work hours led to disagreement and uncertainty among respondents.

Coroners have different methods of determining injury at work on the death certificate, and available guidelines do not define many of the ambiguous situations encountered by coroners.