7 Ways to STOP Those Minor Workers Comp Lost-Time Claims

 

Many companies simply don’t offer light duty. Instead, they say to their injured workers, “If you are not 100 percent then you are no good to me.” These same employers then complain when they go over their loss run about how much they are spending on shorter (10-30 days) lost time claims.

 

 

Typically wage expense on these claims is an employer’s biggest expense. Some higher wage earners can rack up a hefty wage cost in a short amount of time. Meanwhile, the medical cost for their claims may be a few thousand dollars, tops. (WCxKit)

 

 

Here are seven ways to keep those little lost-time claims from adding up in the long run.

 

 

Depending on company size, there are a lot of easy jobs a person with restrictions can do — freeing up a healthy employee to do non-restrictive tasks. Light cleaning, inventory, answering the phone, ordering parts and supplies — all of these are necessary tasks in every company. A person with short-time, restricted duty may be assigned to help on these jobs or other light work until they are able to return to full duty, always dependent on the restrictions. Light duty keeps the employee working, and makes it easier to transition back to full-duty work.

 

 

Physicians usually ask for a job description before they release an injured worker back to work. If you have a good breakdown of what the various job tasks are, it makes it easier for the doctor to decide if the employee can do those jobs. Pay attention to the details of these jobs as well, you don not want an injured employee making the injury worse through their light-duty assignment.

 

 

Who knows what the employee is telling the doctor about the day-to-day job duties? Some claimants wanting to remain off work inflate their job duties to make it sound like there is no way they could return to work until they are at full ability.

 

 

If the employer calls or faxes over a job description the doctor may feel more at ease about releasing an injured worker back to light duty. Also, some doctors flat out ask the employee if there is light duty available and most the time the employee will say no, even when it is known there is light duty, in an effort to remain out of work longer and collect a check before returning to full duty. Employers must follow up and make sure they talk to the right person at the clinic about getting the employee back to work in an assignment consistent with their medical restrictions.

 

 

A common deterrent to an employee not wanting to come back on light duty is the employer drops the wage rates to coincide with the light-duty job tasks. This action defeats the purpose of bringing the employee back to work on light duty. Even though the tasks are below the employee’s experience level, think of light-duty assignments in the short-term, and be flexible with the pay. The injured worker is not going to be on light-duty work forever and getting the worker back to work is the important thing.

 

 

In addition to faxing a job description, ask to talk directly to the physician. This will surely make the doctor feel better about releasing an employee back to work. Talking to the employer reassures the doctor the tasks assigned will be performed properly within the medical restrictions, and that the employer will provide help on certain jobs if the injured worker needs it. In addition, most physicians can provide work restrictions over the phone instead of waiting until the next appointment to release the worker back to light duty.

 

 

If you cannot reach the doctor ask for the office manager or medical/nurse assistance. Tell them a job description was faxed and that you want the doctor to address whether or not the employee is able to perform the light duty tasks; and if not, why. The more persistent you are, the quicker the doctor will be to provide restrictions. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

 

Most people don’t like cleaning, phone work, or simple mundane tasks for very long. If workers know these tasks are a consequence of injury, they are less likely to milk their claim. Good workers hate being hurt and want to return to normal as soon as possible. If they know they will not be sitting at home idle, and instead will be answering the phone at work, it will shave time off of their claim and motivate them to be released from the doctor to full duty.

 

 

Even if you do not have a lot of claims at your workplace, think about the cost in the big picture. Think quarterly and/or annually about the savings you will realize come the end of the year. As mentioned, wages are the biggest cost in short-term, lost-time claims. By keeping the injured employee working so they do not lose any time at all, you provide them with a job while they are injured, and also provide a service to the company. Before you know it they will be full duty without incurring any further lost time from their normal work duties. (WCxKit)

 

 

A good light-duty work program has a ton of benefits and you can get injured workers back to work utilizing the tips outlined above. This will not only save costs, but will also make the workplace more functional for injured workers. It is important to create and have on-hand, up-to-date, detailed job descriptions, as well as someone at your workplace following up with clinics to make sure they have the correct information regarding your light-duty work program. Once everyone is on the same page, your workers and your assigned occupational clinic will know what is expected of them when workers have a minor injury.