Workers Compensation Roundtable LinkedIn Summary

Social networking, shmocial networking! Who has time!?

We do! It’s our JOB.

At Work Comp Roundup we do all the reading for you and bring you just the important things going on at the 2,000-strong LinkedIn WC group – Workers Compensation Roundtable.

This week a reader wants to know if friendly first aid is reportable. And another stirs up conversation by asking where to find the number of workers compensation claims filed each year by state. Read ahead to find out what is being discussed:

Lynne Smart, commercial insurance broker at Orca Insurance Services in the San Francisco Bay Area, asks, “I think that putting a splint on a finger, icing it, and telling the employee not to use for a week would be first aid. What do you think?” Some readers think that telling the employee not to use their hand crosses the line in this instance while others say that a one-time visit with a follow up is the definition of first aid. Still others say that it is no longer first aid if the employee misses work for it. Add your comments to the discussion here.

Bobbijo Werren, account executive at CompManagement, Inc., in the Cleveland/Akron, Ohio area, stirred up discussion when she asked for examples of employer mistakes that resulted in increased claim costs. Leah Jamison, senior workers compensation claims examiner at CompWest Insurance in the Greater Los Angeles Area offers these three points as an answer:

When John Carrington, an analyst at Hound Partners in the greater New York City area asked where to find the number of workers compensation claims filed each year by state on reader recommended the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) website. Others suggested individual state sites, and National Labor & Statistics Bureau, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAICS), or the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). If you have other ideas, add them here and help your colleagues out.

Amy Scherer, workers compensation manager, for hhgregg in the Indianapolis, Indiana area is looking for advice on using an injured workers survey/questionnaire to measure customer service to employee and how her company can improve. Add your thoughts here. Rebecca Shafer mentions that WorkersCompKit is an automated best practive survey that gives a company wide assessment in less than one hour. This tool provides recommendations and an action plan also.

And Harold (Butch) Frick, risk management broker and consultant; senior vice president at Lockton Companies in the greater St. Louis area shares an article about safety standards in the food industry.

Gregory Grinberg, a workers compensation defense attorney at Harbinson, Tune, Kasselik in the San Francisco Bay area shares an article about the California WC statute of limitations defense.

Marcus Roland, managing partner at Roland Legal PLLC in the Lexington, Kentucky, area wants to know how workers’ compensation ALJs or the equivalent selected/hired in your state? “In Kentucky it’s a rather politically driven process. I’m curious to know how other states do it,” he says. Answer him here.

There is lots more gong on at Linkedin’s Workers Compensation Roundtable right now and right here! Better yet, invite your friends so they too can become informed on hot topics in the Workers Compensation industry.

Workers Compensation Roundtable is jointly managed by people dedicated to the concept that workers compensation is a manageable line on your expense ledger, and that informed professionals are empowered achievers. Workers’ compensation is not simply a cost of doing business, it is a cost that can be controlled. Beginning with an assessment of cost drivers, benchmarking data, and integrating the solutions, employers can reduce workers’ comp costs 20 to 50 percent. With proper information, professionals managing compensation claims can reduce costs and improve outcomes for all stakeholders in the process. This group is for employers, business owners, risk managers, HR managers, insurance executives, and brokers to discuss the obstacles and strategies to overcome them.