Get The Workers Compensation Claim Process Off On The Right Track

Successfully implementing your workers compensation disability management program actually begins the day of injury. How you respond to and communicate with the injured employee will in a large measure dictate how cooperative the injured employee will be. Remember that the trust you have earned with the employee, validated by the compassion you show at the time of injury, is critical. As a general rule, the more compassionate and prompt your response to the injury is the more likely the injured employee will be to come back to work with medical approval and the less likely the injured employee is to retain an attorney.

There was a study commissioned by the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation to evaluate the information and assistance services for injured workers. The study obtained information from focus groups of injured workers. The focus groups consisted of employees from several different areas of the state who had filed with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and who had already resolved their claims. The purpose was to obtain qualitative data on the perceptions, feelings and manner of thinking of users of the workers’ compensation services.

The focus group participants provided many recommendations for improving information flow and providing help for injured workers. Most recommendations involve simple improvement in the content, form and delivery of information. While they may seem simple in many ways, they provide important insight into what you should do to get your workers compensation disability management program off on the right track.

First, improve understandability and content. Many of the participants believe that the information given to them regarding their claim and the workers’ compensation process was too general or not readily understandable. The most common recommendation was for information to be developed to guide the injured workers through each specific step of filing a claim. Such information should tell the injured worker “where to go,” “what to do,” “who to call with questions,” and the anticipated time involved for each stage of the claim.

Second, provide a mix of oral and written information. Because not all employees comprehend written information well, it was recommended that information also be given orally. Recommendations included the conducting of individual or group sessions or even showing instructional videos similar to those used for safety or sexual harassment prevention training. At a minimum the Claim Coordinator should take the time to explain, in a compassionate manner, what is expected of the employee and how the process works.

Third, ensure appropriate timing of information. Participants emphasized that more information regarding workers’ compensation law, claims procedures and dispute resolution should be provided at the time of employment. Participants also indicated a need for more complete information and guidance immediately following injury.

Fourth, make information easy to obtain. Many participants reported being unable to obtain needed information or reported obtaining needed information only after expending considerable time and resources. Recommendations included making a wide range of workers’ compensation information available to employees. Some recommended methods for distributing the information were through posting at work, the mail or via the Internet or company intranet.

Fifth, provide sufficient follow-up. Many of the participants felt that injured workers should be provided individual help in filling out forms. Also, participants were of the opinion that workers should have individual support and/or representation made available to them, such as a counselor, social worker, paralegal or legal-aid attorney.

Sixth, treat injured workers with respect. Many of the focus group participants felt that the employer, insurance company, claims personnel, doctors, counselors and others were rude, insensitive, cold, bureaucratic and even threatening. Participants recommended that they be treated with more respect and not assumed to be filing fraudulent claims.

Finally, many of the group participants said that employers should inform injured workers about their rights. In addition, participants believed that the employer representatives needed to become more knowledgeable about the workers’ compensation system.

Successful companies are proactively communicating with their injured workers while they are off on disability. This starts the very first day the employee is injured and includes an explanation of what they can expect from the claim process, how their medical bills are going to be paid, and who they can contact for questions.

CompEraser comes with on-line, on-demand resources needed to CONTROL the temporary duty program, including this important step in the process. Resources also include the formalization of your safety team, injury prevention, OSHA compliance, safety training, prompt injury response, workers compensation disability management, plus more. These resources are available 24/7 and used irrespective of which workers compensation carrier you select. Its patent-pending technology also provides unique financial reports for monitoring the effectiveness of your safety and health program on an on-going basis. For more information visit our website at www.CompEraser.com.