Injured workers face a difficult landscape in seeking compensation and should be encouraged to exercise their rights, according to Edward Welch, director of the Workers' Compensation Center at Michigan State University.

“The workers' view of the workers' compensation system can be simply stated as, 'The employers have done fairly well over the last 15 years, and the workers have done terribly,'” Mr. Welch said at a National Academy of Social Insurance policy symposium here.

He said over that time period, while the costs for employers to provide workers' comp coverage have come down significantly, much of the reduction can be seen in reduced benefits for injured workers.