ProPublica and NPR's new series "Insult to Injury" examines the "demolition" of the workers' comp system and the "geographic lottery" of workers' comp benefits

Journalists Michael Grabell and Howard Berkes have undertaken an "unprecedented look at the unwinding of workers' comp laws across the country" where they report 33 states have reduced benefits, the maximum compensation for a lost body part varies widely state to state, many injured workers are certain to "plummet into poverty," and the costs of workplace accidents has shifted to taxpayers. Accorrding to Grabell and  Berkes, employers and insurers increasingly control medical decisions, workers' comp rates for employers are now the lowest in 25 years, and in 2013 insurers recorded their most profitable year in a decade. Read the first article. Read the second article. View the interactive U.S. map to see which states have cut or raises benefits during the past decade. View the interactive chart for workers' comp rates.

Who bears the cost of workers injuries? 63% is paid out of pocket by workers, their families and private health insurance, while taxpayers pay 16% and workers' comp pays only 21%.

OSHA has released a study that examines the inequality that results from a workplace injury and the costs of failing to protect workers on the job. The main points are:

> Work injuries and illnesses impose heavy costs on workers, families, and the economy

> Injured workers and taxpayers subsidize high hazard employers

> The changing structure of work in the U.S. increases risk of injury and contributes to income inequality

> Occupational injuries and illnesses strain social insurance programs and result in taxpayer subsidies of unsafe employers

> The most effective solution is greater efforts to prevent work injuries and illnesses.