Employer Control Is The key To Workers Compensation Disability Management
YOUR ORGANIZATION MUST TAKE CONTROL OF THE CLAIM PROCESS. Otherwise it will fall prey to the perceived “unholy alliance” created by the various “systems” used by the doctors, lawyers, claim adjusters and regulatory authorities, and you will pick up the tab. At the core of your workers compensation disability management process should be three initiatives that must be implemented immediately after a worker injury occurs:
Prompt injury response. This initiative is designed to provide prompt, quality medical care to the injured employee, explain the workers compensation system and what the injured employee can expect through the process, establish a comfortable communication flow between the injured employee and the Claim Coordinator (rather than with an attorney), establish a communication flow between the Claim Coordinator and the healthcare provider, investigate and determine the “root cause” of the injury, and promptly report the injury to the claim adjuster. If implemented properly your Prompt Injury Response system will get the workers compensation claim off on the right track, reduce the employee’s need for an attorney, and minimize future problems.
Establish compensability. Many state and federal workers compensation laws provide a degree of protection to the employer in certain situations including employees injured while under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol, facts that prove that the employee was not actually injured on the job at all, and medical treatments that do not relate to the injury itself. In addition, the workers compensation claim management team may uncover subrogation possibilities that can mitigate the ultimate cost of the injury.
Offer medically approved temporary duty. In those situations where the employee was disabled and unable to return to work, it is critical that the claim management team find medically approved work that can be offered. This initiative should include ADA-compliant, Temporary Duty return to work programs that will help the claim management team quickly identify temporary duty jobs, obtain medical approval of these tasks based upon the injured employee’s work capacity, make the formal offer to the injured employee, and respond proactively to the employee’s decision to accept or reject the temporary duty offer.
Employer control over its workers compensation disability management process will dramatically reduce both insured and indirect workers compensation costs. The Resource Library within the CompEraser system is loaded with all the tools, forms and checklists you must have to control each workers compensation claim from beginning to closure. Resources also include the formalization of your safety team, injury prevention, safety training, 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.
