The number of paid workers’ compensation claims fell 36% relative to the number of employees from 1997 to 2007, according to a newly released annual report from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI).
According to DLI Commissioner Steve Sviggum, “While we have a very good workers’ compensation system in Minnesota, we can improve efficiency and effectiveness by working together with labor and industry. The data in this report is a basis for discussion about the changes that are needed to curb rising costs.”
Minnesota’s workers’ compensation system parallels nationwide trends. The claim rates are on the decline, the system costs remain stable, but the costs per claim are on the rise.
Total benefits increased relative to payroll from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, but have decreased somewhat in more recent years. This has reflected the combined effects of a consistently decreasing claim rate and increasing benefits per claim, particularly medical benefits. Total system cost has been stable relative to payroll in the mid-2000s with minor fluctuation.
Major Findings
1. The claim rate fell continually from 1997 through 2007.
2. Workers’ compensation system cost fluctuated mildly relative to payroll since 1997, with a somewhat lower value for 2007 than for 1997.
3. Adjusted for average wage growth, average medical and indemnity benefits per insured claim rose substantially between 1997 and 2006.
4. Relative to payroll, medical benefits have risen since 1997 while indemnity benefits have fallen, reflecting the net effect of the falling claim rate and higher benefits per claim.
5. The increase in indemnity benefits per claim is due primarily to increasing benefit duration and increases in the frequency and amounts of stipulated benefits.
6. The vocational rehabilitation participation rate increased steadily between 1997 and 2003, but has changed relatively little since 2003. (workersxzcompxzkit).
7. The dispute rate rose substantially from 1997 to 2007.
The Workers’ Compensation System Report is available online www.dli.mn.gov/RS/WcSystemReport.asp.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
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WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2009 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com. We respond very quickly.
Oklahoma Bill Aims to Assist Small Family Businesses
House bill HB 1003 put forward by Representative Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City) aims to assist small family businesses employing five or fewer employees who are all related.
As it stands now, only a “natural person” not a corporation, LLC or partnership, etc. can be exempt from Oklahoma workers’ compensation mandates.
HB 1003 would expand the definition of “employer” to include not only a natural person, but also a partner, a member of an association or an incorporator of a corporation if the employer is a partnership, limited liability company or corporation.
According to Kern, workers’ compensation reforms approved four years ago removed exemptions for partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. By doing so, Kern said things have been made more difficult from small family firms.
Kern added the reforms signed into law in 2005 are not a problem for big corporations, but have had a negative impact on smaller family businesses, forcing them to carry thousands of dollars in insurance. (workersxzcompxzkit).
If approved, Kern said the new legislation would remove some of these burdens on smaller family businesses.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Without proper documentation a company is essentially asking for problems when a work-related injury occurs. Out-of-line workers’ compensation costs can be held in check by carefully recording every thing, step by step when an injury takes place: from the time the injury happens until the employee returns to work either in a transitional duty position or to full duty.
Seven Minimum Steps You Must Take
1. Document the incident in writing. Obtain information about the incident, the injury, and medical attention sought.
2. Complete these documents:
- Post Injury Interview
- Employee Report of Incident
- Witness Report Form
3. All witnesses and any persons who were nearby complete the Witness Report Form, even if they claim not to have witnessed the incident; the absence of witnesses is important also.
4. Documents are forwarded to the workers’ compensation manager.
5. Give the injury coordinator all necessary information report the claim.
6. Follow all protocol to identify and correction hazards connected with the injury. (Example: removing or repairing malfunctioning objects or equipment.) (workersxzcompxzkit)
7. Notify the injury coordinator when those steps are completed.
8. If you have a Medical Advisor who particpate in a “triage program” contact the Medical Advisor also.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Bills covering workers’ compensation issues recently moved through the Tennessee state legislative system with the help of The Tennessee Self-Insurers Association (TNSIA).
SB1574 clarified a recent Supreme Court ruling on communication with the authorized treating physician, putting to rest the Overstreet decision, a 2008 Supreme Court case preventing employers, insurance carriers and attorneys from communicating with the authorized treating physician
SB 1574 allows communication with the authorized treating physician under the following terms:
1. The employer may send written communications to the treating physician, but must copy the employee or the employee’s attorney on the correspondence with any attached materials and must provide the employee or the employee’s attorney with copies of the physician’s response to the correspondence within seven (7) days of receipt.
2. The employer may communicate orally with the treating physician, but must send the employee or the employee’s attorney a written summary of the opinions or statements of the physician within seven (7) days of a request by the employee or the employee’s attorney.
3. The employer’s attorney may communicate orally with the authorized treating physician, but must provide written notice to the employee or the employee’s attorney at least seven (7) days prior to the communication and must provide the employee or the employee’s attorney with a written summary of all opinions expressed by the physician within seven (7) days of the communication.”
SB 1574 has made its way through both legislative chambers and is set to be sent to Gov. Phil Bredesen for his signature. (workersxzcompxzkit).
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Supervisors are the front-line reporters of work-related injuries and accidents and bear the primary responsibility for making sure employees perform post-injury response procedures in accordance with the employer’s workers’ compensation policies.
Ten Actions Supervisors Must Take
1. Make sure injured employees take a Work Ability Form (WAF) with them when they go to the medical provider.
2. Accompany injured employees to the medical provider.
3. Inform medical providers the WAF must be returned (by mail or fax) to the supervisor (or injury coordinator) within 24 hours of a work-related injury. If the supervisor has a problem retrieving the completed WAF from the medical provider within 24 hours, the issue should be referred to the injury coordinator for action.
4. Compile a Post-Injury Package consisting of completed WAF together with Witness, Supervisors, and Employee Reports of Incident and fax to injury coordinator.
5. Train employee subordinates in the basics of workers’ compensation benefits such as Rights and Responsibilities under the WCMP, Post-Injury Response, and Transitional Duty Program.
6. Demonstrate to employees how to obtain emergency medical care for injured employees.
7. Demonstrate to employees how to get non-emergency care for injured employees. (workersxzcompxzkit)
8. Describe what forms and documents to give to (and get from) an injured employee.
9. Participate in weekly meetings with the injury coordinator and injured employee.
10. Train employees in post-injury response roles and responsibilities.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
California CLO Office Settles Four Lawsuits
The purpose of all of these cases was to recover money for the benefit of policyholders, injured worker claimants, and other creditors of the Insurer.
California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner reports the Conservation & Liquidation Office (CLO) settled four lawsuits arising from the 2003 failure of Fremont Indemnity Company (Fremont) a national workers’ compensation insurer headquartered in Glendale. Under these settlements, the insurer’s liquidation estate receives up to $37.3 million from several defendants.
The insurer, one of the largest California-based workers’ compensation insurers, writing more than $800 million in premiums in its final year of full operations is only one of dozens of workers’ compensation insurers failing during the workers’ compensation crisis occurring from 1999 to 2003.
Following Fremont’s placement into liquidation in 2003, the Commissioner’s CLO conducted a thorough investigation of the company’s operations and management. The investigation eventually resulted in four lawsuits being filed on behalf of the insurer’s liquidation estate.
The first pair of lawsuits were filed in 2004. (Fremont Indemnity Co. v. Fremont General Corporation, et al. Los Angeles Superior Court Case Nos. BC 316472 and BC 320766). These actions were filed against Fremont’s parent companies, Fremont Compensation Insurance Group (an intermediate holding company) and Fremont General Corporation, Fremont ‘s ultimate parent company.
The actions arose mainly out of the treatment of Fremont under the parent company’s consolidated federal income tax returns and under certain tax sharing arrangements among the companies (The Tax Cases).
In 2006, the CLO filed another case, (Insurance Commissioner v. Rampino, et al. Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC 357691), alleging seven former directors and officers of Fremont breached their fiduciary duty to Fremont by engaging in a scheme which violated Fremont’s duties to its reinsurers prior to Fremont ‘s insolvency.
The scheme involved a practice known as “net line underwriting” intended to benefit Fremont at the expense of its reinsurers. The lawsuit alleged the scheme resulted in the reinsurers asserting claims for rescission of multiple valuable reinsurance treaties, which ultimately was settled at a loss to Fremont . (The D&O Case). (workersxzcompxzkit).
The final lawsuit, (Insurance Commissioner of the State of California v. Fremont General Corp., et al. United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Case No. Adv. Proc. No. 8:08-ap-01258-ES), filed in 2008 arose out of a dispute over the ownership of a corporate fine art collection valued at more than $4 million (The Art Case). This art collection included numerous photographs by famed photographer Ansel Adams.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
It Isn’t “US” Against “THEM”
Look around. Are there horror stories of how employers, insurance companies and government agencies stick spokes into what should be a smooth-running workers’ compensation process? Oh yes!
Recently the city of Atlanta spent more than $171,000 over a five-year period fighting the claim of five gravely injured city workers – we are talking about one being brain damaged and the other four in wheelchairs. So, what’s the point? The workers have serious, life-altering injuries. Are they likely to return to their jobs? No. It would be better to settle the claims and move them onto permanent disability status thus giving them and their families peace of mind.
Every employer needs to ask: “What is the bottom-line GOAL in resolving injured employees workers’ compensation claims? Reducing the COST & LENGTH of claims and returning the employee to work. While it may be all about the money, it’s also very much about the employee.
Create a Positive, Effective Response When Employees Are Injured
Proactive Communication: Inform employees of the policies, programs and procedures expected of them in the event of a work-related injury.
Be interested in the injured worker’s concerns such as: Who will pay my medical bills? How long will I be out? Will I lose my job? How will I support my family; Do I have a workers’ comp claim? If I can’t do my regular job, is there another one for me?
Have a Plan
1. Know what to do when the injury occurs.
2. Make sure the worker receives prompt, adequate medical care.
3. Send a company representative with them to the medical facility.
4. Complete all relevant paperwork.
5. Arrange for personal items and car to be taken home.
6. Answer questions, be reassuring and convey interest in their well being.
Reactive Communication: Following the injury establish and maintain communications with the injured employee so s/he remains psychologically connected during recuperation and focuses on the final objective of returning to work as soon a medically able as a healthy, productive employee.
1. Remain in weekly telephone contact.
2. Send a get-well card.
3. Set-up weekly meetings at the workplace.
4. Make sure the injured worker keeps all medical appointments, even if you arrange transportation.
5. Arrange for a transitional duty assignment when the worker is medically able.
Employers with a plan can answer questions when they arise (and they will) and allow the parties to resolve them without resorting to lawsuits or other harsh methods. ( workersxzcompxzkit).
Engaging injured workers in an adversarial battle of wit and wills is a death knell to reducing costs and does nothing for the workplace environment, the employee’s attitude or the employer’s reputation. And, sends people running for their lawyers.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
Bills covering workers’ compensation issues recently moved through the Tennessee state legislative system with the help of The Tennessee Self-Insurers Association (TNSIA).
Bill SB1909 addresses another Supreme Court decision and limits compensation for injuries occurring during a recreational activity. That decision greatly expanded the scope of employment to include workers who were voluntarily engaged in recreational activity.
SB1909 puts some very specific restrictions on the ability to successfully make a workers’ compensation claim for a person who is injured during a recreational activity.
The bill disallows employees from recovering for injuries sustained during recreational activities, except in the following limited circumstances:
1. When the employee’s participation was expressly or impliedly required by the employer; or
2. When the employee’s participation produced a direct benefit to the employer beyond improvement in employee health and morale; or
3. When the employee’s participation was during the employee’s work hours and was part of the employee’s work-related duties; or
4. When the injury occurred due to an unsafe condition during voluntary participation using facilities designated by, furnished by or maintained by the employer on or off the employer’s premises and the employer had actual knowledge of the unsafe condition and failed to curtail the activity or program or cure the unsafe condition. (workersxzcompxzkit).
On June 1, 2009 SB1909 was sent to the Governor Phil Bredesen for his signature.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
New Licensing Statues for Professional Employer Organizations in Texas
HB2249 amendments to Texas state licensing statues for professional employer organizations (PEO) was signed into law by Govenor Rick Perry. The new amendments offer additional security to thousands of Texas small businesses who outsource human resource management, employee benefits, payroll and workers’ compensation to a PEO.
The bill, with overwhelming support from the small business community and (PEOs), modernizes statutes for the 287 PEOs licensed in the second largest market for the industry.
Provisions of the new law clarifying that tax credits and other economic incentives remain with business owners sharing their employer responsibilities with a PEO, become effective on September 1, 2009. PEOs have until the end of 2011 to comply with enhanced financial statement requirements. Texas law will be more in sync with PEO requirements in many other states. PEOs are reportedly flourishing nationwide as a $68 billion industry with double digit growth for the past five years.
Small businesses contract with a PEO to help manage increasingly complex employee-related matters such as health benefits, safety management, workers’ compensation claims, payroll, payroll tax compliance, unemployment insurance claims and provide expertise in human resources management. (workersxzcompxzkit).
PEOs use their own tax ID to submit payroll records and file taxes, offer benefits, and secure workers’ compensation coverage. They also work with clients in managing employment practices, employee handbooks and compliance with federal and state labor regulations.
Under the law,Texas PEOs will reportedly benefit from an increased ease of compliance through the use of electronic filings of licensing documents, and the voluntary use of financial assurance organizations.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
One main theme of effective workers’ compensation programs is focusing on employer/employee satisfaction with the system and returning workers to work in a timely manner. The following study reinforces the importance of providing immediate medical care for workers following an injury and transitional duty and return to work programs. (See WCK Blog: “Workers’ Compensation and Injured Workers – It Isn’t “US” Against “THEM”).
In Michigan, the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) conducted a study, Comparing Outcomes for Injured Workers in Michigan analyzing how Michigan compared with 10 other states within the context of this “key value proposition.”
The study juxtaposed worker outcomes in each study state within the areas of recovery of physical health and functioning, return to work, access to health care and satisfaction with health care with data on the costs and utilization of medical care and found:
1. On average, employers in Michigan paid less for medical care per claim with more than seven days of lost time than most other study states.
2. The average paid medical cost per claim with more than seven days of lost time was 27% lower than the average medical cost in the median of the 11 states studied, largely due to a lower than typical fee schedule.
3. Recoveries of injured workers in Michigan were in the middle of the range of states studied with the average worker in Michigan receiving a typical amount of medical care and reporting a typical physical recovery after an injury.
4. Workers in Michigan had return-to-work outcomes typical of the study states. Some 10% of Michigan workers reported never returning to work; 14% reported never having a substantial return to work (one that lasted at least one month) predominantly due to their injury as of 2.5 years post injury.
5. Michigan workers typically returned to substantial employment about nine weeks after their injury, putting the state in the middle of the group of states. Only 22 percent of Michigan workers did not have a substantial return to work one year post injury – a better outcome compared to most other states studied.
WCRI found compared to 10 other states, outcomes for injured workers in Michigan were generally in the middle of the range on most measures.
The study also found:
1. The vast majority of workers in Michigan reported they were somewhat or very satisfied with the timeliness of their first visit to their initial and primary provider (83% and 79% for each measure, respectively).
2. 14% of workers reported they were very dissatisfied with how quickly they saw their primary provider after their injury, similar to the middle group of states (10% to 14%).
3. 12% percent reported “big problems” in gaining access to the primary provider they wanted.
4. 82% reported they were somewhat or very satisfied overall with the care they received. Although approximately 1 in 10 said they were very dissatisfied with their medical care, this was still in the middle of the range of states studied.
5. Michigan had among the lowest percentage of workers who wanted to change their primary provider due to dissatisfaction with their care. Fewer Michigan workers wanted to change providers than in most other study states. (workersxzcompxzkit).
The study consisted of telephone interviews with 786 workers in Michigan who received workers’ compensation income benefits for injuries between October 2005 and September 2006. The interviews were conducted during September and October 2008 – on average, about two and one-half years after the dates of the workers’ injuries.
Author: Robert Elliott, J.D.
Click on these links to try it for yourself.
WC Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/calculator.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC 101: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/workers_comp.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost containment programs.
©2008 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com
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