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Cowlitz County risk office urges badges, reports rise in high‑severity workers’‑comp claims
Summary
Risk analyst Scott Kaelian told commissioners the county will push ID badges after Homeland Security recommendations and reported an uptick in workers’‑comp claim severity; staff described recent payouts and ongoing liability claims while the liability claims fund reflects an annex insurance recovery.
Scott Kaelian, risk analyst, told the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners the county plans to issue ID badges to all employees after what he described as a Homeland Security recommendation and as part of security planning tied to an HVAC project at the Hall of Justice.
"We are risk is taking recommendation from Homeland Security on, recom highly recommending that all employees wear ID badges when inside buildings," Kaelian said, adding that an intern will help employees get new badges and photos.
The recommendation emerged during a routine risk presentation that also covered workers’ compensation and liability claims. Kaelian said June was a high month for new workers’‑comp claims this year and that overall severity has risen. He reported the county spent about $177,000 on workers’‑comp claims through June 30, 2025, and said the trend this year is up compared with recent years.
"These claims that we have open right now are more higher in severity," Kaelian said, adding the county currently had multiple time‑loss claims and that one larger payout reflected a miscalculation that resulted in an eight‑month catch‑up payment.
Commissioners asked whether the larger payouts represented a structural trend or isolated high‑severity cases. Kaelian said some recent injuries were preventable and that staff reviews each incident to identify corrective actions and retraining opportunities. He described return‑to‑work and injury prevention as the principal long‑term cost‑reduction strategies for workers’‑comp claims.
On liability claims, staff reported a budget line of $153,000 in anticipated miscellaneous revenue tied to an expected insurance recovery for the county annex; to date about $1,700 had been received. Other financing sources included a $300,000 transfer from the risk management fund, which staff said had been received.
The risk presentation also covered routine metrics: the county had two new liability claims in June and closed one, leaving 12 open liability claims and 10 ongoing litigations as of the report. No formal policy change or vote was taken; the board received the monthly update and asked staff to continue monitoring claims and follow up on prevention efforts.
The county did not set an immediate deadline for badge rollout or specify a vendor or final badge design; Kaelian said facilities staff will determine vendor details and vendor badge color coding.
Commissioners pressed staff on whether departmental safety lapses contributed to the claims spike; Kaelian said reviews have identified some preventable events and that corrective steps and retraining have been implemented where appropriate.
