Up to 40 percent of workplace injuries go uncompensated, according to an analysis of patients arriving at National Taiwan University Hospital's emergency rooms that was performed by the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine.
Even though labor insurance is required by law, many find themselves falling through the gaps in the system. Those who are working in the most dangerous jobs are also most likely to be unprotected, according to the department's doctors.
The analysis included 176 patients received in the last four months at the hospital's emergency rooms.
"We found 30 percent of the patients we sampled to be without labor insurance, which is high compared to the national average," said Lin Ching-hua (林慶華), a physician at the center. "We think our sample might be skewed because we used emergency-room arrivals."
"Those who suffer massive physical trauma are more likely to be employed at dangerous work places like construction sites and be less aware of their rights," Lin said.
Another 10 percent of workers in the study were not covered because they worked multiple jobs while only being insured for one or were insured with their union and did not update their insurance policies after changing jobs, Lin said.
In one case, a patient was insured under a taxi drivers' union but also worked in construction. When he fell from scaffolding and became unable to walk properly, his injuries were not covered by his insurance.
Under current labor insurance policies, workers can only be insured under one workplace, leaving workers injured at a second, unrelated job without coverage.
Rule changes are under discussion to allow insurance that covers multiple jobs and total wages -- instead of just the wages earned at the primary workplace -- according to Meng Ai-lun (孟藹倫), director of the Council of Labor Affair's Bureau of Labor Insurance.
Lin said another problem was that psychological damage incurred while at work was not compensated under labor insurance rules unless the medical damage sustained was so severe that the worker qualifies as disabled.
One patient was working on an underground construction site when he was buried by a cave-in. The worker had recurring nightmares of being trapped underground and was fired when he failed to return to work.
"Many workers suffer high levels of anxiety after a traumatic incident and need time to adjust before returning to their job, even if they are physically capable," Lin said.
Although medical costs are covered by National Health Insurance regardless of whether or not it is job-related, labor insurance still plays an important role.
"Workers covered by labor insurance do not have to pay any out-of-pocket expenses [related to their treatment], which can add up for serious injuries," said Lin. "Secondly, they can apply for some compensation for time they have to take off from work."
"There is also the issue of which fund is used," he added. "If a condition is work-related, it is supposed to be treated with money from the Labor Insurance pool and not the National Health Insurance pool."
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai