Our last discussion intentionally omitted a key question to pose to any firm or attorney you are considering for handling your contested workers compensation cases because we wanted to handle it separately due to it’s importance.
That question: What is your success ratio in contested workers compensation cases? There is no second place in workers compensation litigation. You want to win! Your attorney should want to win too! His or her skills, plus the claim file, should ideally position the employer or carrier to attain victory.
Whether the issue is one of “arising out of employment,” no causal relationship, employee horseplay, malingering or a bogus injury occurring away from work, the employer and carrier wants to win. Moral victories do not count.
Therefore ask: What is the attorney’s win/loss ratio? Does she keep track? How does the attorney define “win”? In workers compensation, a “win” can be anything from a defeated compensation claim to get 40% permanent partial disability instead of permanent total. Begin the counsel selection process with the end in mind. In contested workers (workersxzcompxzkit) compensation cases, the end is a claim that is either (rightfully) defeated or minimized. Management guru and author Tom Peters says, “That which gets measured gets done.” Does defense counsel keep track of overall workers compensation wins and losses? If so, that’s a good sign – and an even better sign if the win percentage is high!!
Kevin Quinley CPCU, AIC, ARM is a claims consultant, trainer, speaker and expert witness. He is the author of ten books on various aspects of claims management. He is a contributing author to the IIA textbook for the Associate in Claims courses, Principles of Workers Compensation Claims (Second Edition) 1998. You can reach Kevin at kquinley@cox.net, by phoning (703) 239-1694 or via his website, www.kevinquinley.com
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.
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