How NOT To Handle A Workers Compensation Claim
I received the following email out of the blue yesterday. To be honest, I had no idea who it was from and it turned out that they sent it to me based upon a Google search:
“I was injured a month and a half ago by my employer. I have not received anything from the workman’s comp claims adjuster. Now my cell phone is disconnected and I sent her an email yesterday. And now she tells me she needs a phone number on file. However she has not tried to call me since this claim started. I have always called her. My email asked her to simply leave me information about the claim and she never responded to that. She just said I need a number on file. What should I do?”
Initially I was reluctant to respond to this email. You never know if it is a prank or if there was more to this workers compensation claim than was being told. But there was something in the message that motivated me to respond with a few more questions.
“Are you certain that you were hurt on the job?”
“Have you tried to contact your employer for help?”
“Have you tried to contact another adjuster for help?”
The person emailed back the following response:
“Thanks for your prompt reply. Yes, I feel this is a workers compensation claim. I was working at the hotel when I slipped and fell while leaving at the end of the day. I reported my claim right away but felt that human resources treated me very strangely. At first nothing happened but after three weeks I was told the claim had been reported to the insurance company. I wanted a while longer but did not hear from the insurance company. Since I could not work and was not being paid I could not pay for my phone and it was disconnected. My employer is not helping me and is still acting strange. I do not know what to do and need help.”
So I emailed her back and asked for the name of the adjuster. Once this information was received I called the adjuster. She was not in that day so I talked to her supervisor. I told her that I had nothing to do with this case but was only trying help. The senior adjuster then said:
“You know, the adjuster is new and probably did not know how to tell this person that the claim is still being investigated. I will contact her myself right away.”
Now I will have no way of knowing what will ultimately come of this claim. For all I know it will not be viewed as compensable. But the point is that the employer, whoever it is, treated their employee very poorly. As a result, the employee (who did not even know they had the right to get an attorney…believe it or not) was afraid and insecure. It also took 3 weeks for the employer to report the claim to the adjuster, who then totally dropped the ball. But let me ask you...
What if the claim is, in fact compensable?
What do you think the chances are that this individual would eventually retain an attorney?
How do you think the state industrial commission will feel when they find out that the employee fell into financial trouble and even had their phone disconnected as a result?
What do you think the chances are that they claim will eventually be paid because of this poor treatment?
Communicating with an injured employee with compassion is extremely important. Also, responding promptly to the event, investigating the facts quickly, and promptly reporting the injury to the adjuster is critical. In this case the employer did none of these. This individual was so afraid they chose to email someone they did not even know rather than go see their employer for help. And, while in this case the injured employee had not yet retained an attorney (that absolutely amazed me), the odds are high that eventually they would…and all this could have been avoided. Also, relying on a claim adjuster completely to manage the claim will often cause enormous harm to the employment relationship and weaken the employer’s position before the state industrial commission. No one wins here.
So let me leave you with a few more questions:
“How would you feel if you were treated this way?”
“How soon would it be before you retained an attorney?”
“How many other employees would you tell your problem to?”
"How would this affect the morale in your workplace?"
“Is it worth the risk?”
“Is this the proper way to treat any injured person?”
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