• Menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Search
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
 
CHOOSE BROADSPIRE

Amaxx Workers Comp Blog

Reduce Workers Compensation Costs By 20-50%

Header Right

  • Home
    • Training Center
  • Get Started
    • Newcomers Class for WC Professionals
    • Subscribe to Free Newsletter
    • Free Training Center Account
    • Return to Work Resources
    • WC Claims Mgmt. Resources
    • Insurance Advisor Resources
  • Membership
    • Insider (free account)
    • WC Mastery
    • Teams & Managers Mastery
    • Training Partners
  • Products
    • On-Demand Courses
    • Specialty Courses
    • Certifications & Mastery Courses
    • Ultimate Guidebooks
  • Blog
    • Video Blogs
    • COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Login

Mobile Menu

Choose Broadspire

CHOOSE BROADSPIREBroadspire Delivers Meaningful Results to Our Clients and Their Claimants
  • Home
    • Training Center
  • Get Started
    • Newcomers Class for WC Professionals
    • Subscribe to Free Newsletter
    • Free Training Center Account
    • Return to Work Resources
    • WC Claims Mgmt. Resources
    • Insurance Advisor Resources
  • Membership
    • Insider (free account)
    • WC Mastery
    • Teams & Managers Mastery
    • Training Partners
  • Products
    • On-Demand Courses
    • Specialty Courses
    • Certifications & Mastery Courses
    • Ultimate Guidebooks
  • Blog
    • Video Blogs
    • COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Login
  • Search
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
You are here: Home / Uncategorized / 8 Categories To Define Winning Workers’ Comp Litigation Strategy

8 Categories To Define Winning Workers’ Comp Litigation Strategy

May 15, 2017 By //  by Michael B. Stack Leave a Comment

Legal fees in litigated workers compensation claims can quickly become a significant part of the overall claim cost.  Fortunately, there are some very good ways to control legal cost without having a negative impact on the overall claim settlement.  The best time to establish control over legal fees is when the defense attorney is first employed; however, the best time to control the overall strategy of the litigation is before counsel is even hired.

Prior to hiring counsel, a fast track defense strategy should be established to ensure that appropriate actions are taken immediately upon notification of a claim. [The individual components of a fast track strategy are beyond the scope of this article.] The establishment of some basic ground rules for the legal fee billing before the attorney goes to work on the workers compensation claim will result in a measure of cost control without sacrificing the best possible settlement of the claim.

Litigation cost control is much more than negotiating the hourly rate and whether or not you will be charged for postage.  There are Best Practices for Litigation Management that should be utilized as a major part of your legal cost control.  The Litigation Management Best Practices can be broken down into easy to measure performance goals.  The following questions will assist you in determining if your current litigation program is controlling cost fully.

Click Link to Access Free PDF Download

“13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

Defense Counsel Selection:

  • Is the defense counsel on your company’s list of approved counsel?
  • Is the defense counsel selected a law firm, or a specific attorney (preferably), within the law firm? Many carriers have an “approved list” of attorneys they use; this doesn’t necessarily mean those are the best attorneys or the most knowledgeable for your purposes, so consider their qualifications carefully and if you have another attorney you wish to use, discuss adding him/her to the list of approved counsel.
  • If the defense attorney is new to representing your company, has the attorney been provided the terms and conditions of the assignment?
  • Have they visited your operations, seen your products and know the basic requirements of the jobs within your workplace?
  • Have the reporting requirements been clearly stated?
  • Was a litigation budget request incorporated into, or attached to, the assignment letter?

The Answer:

  • Did the workers compensation adjuster refer the matter to defense counsel timely when an answer must be filed?
  • Does the employer provide the complete facts of the injury immediately such as how the injury occurred, photographs of the accident, information about weight of objects lifted, the employee’s application for employment, information about any prior injuries, prior claims, or prior medical absences. Having the employment file is very helpful.
  • Does the defense attorney have everything needed to complete ALL blanks on the First Report of Injury. Does he have the OSHA Report?
  • Does the defense attorney offer arbitration or mediation as an alternative to protracted litigation?

Initial Legal File Handling:

  • Are all medical and/or indemnity issues covered by the workers compensation policy?
  • Is the potential exposure on the claim evaluated correctly?
  • Is there an economic justification for a quick disposition of the claim?
  • Are there any statute defenses that need to be addressed?
  • Are there any unique aspects of the claim that could alter the outcome favorably or unfavorably?
  • Are all potential third parties noted?

Defense Counsel Acceptance:

  • Does the defense counsel send an acknowledgment of the assignment to both the workers compensation adjuster and to your workers compensation coordinator?
  • Does the defense counsel provide an initial review and evaluation report within the first 30 day?
  • Does the initial review offer alternative courses of action and the probable outcomes?
  • Does the defense counsel provide a detailed budget plan within the first 30 days?

Defense Counsel Staffing:

  • With the acceptance of the assignment, did the defense counsel specify who will be working on the claim?  (Unless the claim is extremely complex, the defense attorney, possibly one junior associate and one paralegal are all of the law firm that should be involved.  Multiple associate attorneys and multiple paralegals will add time [cost] learning the claim before being able to proceed with an activity).
  • Is the hourly rate for each of the law firm members clearly stated?
  • Does the attorney do work that should be done by the paralegal?

Budget:

  • Is the budget completely itemized?
  • Is research time included only for extraordinary issues?
  • Does the budget include the cost of any experts that will be retained?

Claim Handling:

  • Does the defense counsel make recommendations for any additional adjuster work that should be done?  (Defense attorneys are notorious about having the paralegals do the adjuster’s job of obtaining medical records and other documentation).
  • Does the defense attorney have the adjuster hire other vendors (surveillance, nurse case managers, vocational rehabilitation, etc.) or does the defense attorney complete the adjuster’s work?

Actions of Defense Counsel:

  • Is defense counsel avoiding the expenses of depositions and other discovery if it is the intent to settle the claim? Often, some discovery prior to settlement can reduce the amount of the ultimate settlement.
  • Is the defense counsel requesting only necessary depositions?
  • Is the defense counsel reporting significant developments timely?
  • Is the defense counsel reporting the progress of the claim at least every 90 days if the case is moving slowly?
  • Do the reports from defense counsel cover all pertinent information without repeating prior reports?
  • Does each report include an action plan to move the claim forward?

    FREE DOWNLOAD: “13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

Hearings / Trials:

  • Is the hearing/trial date reported as soon as it is known?
  • Does the defense attorney provide a pre-hearing / pre-trial report at least 30 days ahead of hearing / trial?
  • Does the defense attorney provide a strategy for the hearing / trial?
  • Does the defense attorney timely request additional settlement authority when needed?
  • Does the defense attorney provide a timely update or report on the hearing / trial?

Legal Bills:

  • Is the amount billed for each activity appropriate?
  • Are the bills properly itemized with each activity being billed separately?  (As opposed to block billing where several activities are lumped together and one charge is given for all work done).
  • Do the legal bills follow the defense attorney stated course of action?
  • Are the legal bills in compliance with the litigation budget?

If you are uncomfortable trying to control the litigation cost or feel you need an expert to review the litigated workers compensation claims, please contact us for assistance.

Author Michael Stack, Principal, Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their work comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center.

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

Workers’ Comp Roundup Blog: https://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/

Live Stream WC Training: http://workerscompclub.com/livestreamtraining

©2017 Amaxx LLC. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.

Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker, attorney, or qualified professional.

FREE DOWNLOAD: “13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Workers Compensation Defense Costs

Related Articles

Nurse Triage: Using Medical Expertise at Time of Injury

Nurse Triage: Using Medical Expertise at Time of Injury

Tips for Effective Use of an Interpreter in Workers’ Comp

Tips for Effective Use of an Interpreter in Workers’ Comp

Catastrophic Claims Handling Part 1: Demonstrate Care and Investigate

Catastrophic Claims Handling Part 1: Demonstrate Care and Investigate

6 Effective Claim Handling Tips For Undocumented Employees

6 Effective Claim Handling Tips For Undocumented Employees

Aggressive Defense of Workers’ Comp Mental Injury Claims

Aggressive Defense of Workers’ Comp Mental Injury Claims
Reduce Costs via Workers' Comp Litigation Management

Reduce Costs via Workers’ Comp Litigation Management

Reduce Costs via Workers’ Comp Litigation Management

Key Steps to Avoid, Manage, and Win Workers’ Comp Litigation

Key Steps to Avoid, Manage, and Win Workers’ Comp Litigation

4 Items Claims Handlers Want From Their Defense Attorney

4 Items Claims Handlers Want From Their Defense Attorney

If It’s a Safety Issue, Can You Learn What Medications Your Employee Is Taking?

If It’s a Safety Issue, Can You Learn What Medications Your Employee Is Taking?

Remembrance: Tribute to Marsh and AON Colleagues Killed Sept. 11, 2001 — 10 Years Later

Remembrance: Tribute to Marsh and AON Colleagues Killed Sept. 11, 2001 — 10 Years Later

New Court Decision Marks Increased Importance Of Return to Work

New Court Decision Marks Increased Importance Of Return to Work

Defending Traumatic Brain Injury Cases

Defending Traumatic Brain Injury Cases

Free Download

13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Train to Succeed

BECOME CERTIFIED IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Proven Course Catalog & WC Toolbox Give You The Power To Achieve Lower Costs and Better Injured Worker Outcomes

VISIT WORKERS' COMP TRAINING CENTER

Previous Post: « 5 Reasons Your Employee WANTS to Return to Work
Next Post: 11 Simple Ways to Make Return to Work Part of Corporate Culture »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FREE DOWNLOAD

Step-by-Process to Master Workers' Comp in 90 Days - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Our Sponsors

Broadspire

Workers’ Comp 3rd-Party Administrator
 

Catastrophic Care Management, Complex Care, and Specialty Networks
 

Ametros

Post-Settlement Administration
 

Medicare Secondary Payer Services
 

Medcor

Injury Triage, Onsite Clinics

Read Our Award-Winning Blog

Blog Categories

Search Our Archive

Subscribe to Our FREE Newsletter

Footer

Search Our Archive

Search our continually growing archive of over 2500 articles about Workers' Comp issues.

Quiclinks

  • Calculators
  • Terms & Abbreviations
  • Glossary of WC Premium Terms
  • WC Resources
  • Best Practices
  • Industries

RSS Recent Blog Posts

  • What to Do AFTER a Workers’ Comp Claim Audit
  • Select the Right Claims for a Workers’ Comp Claim Audit
  • Stop Wasting Time Doing Workers’ Comp Claim Audits
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEE NEWSLETTER
Let Us Help You Stomp Down the High Cost of Workers' Comp!
Top of Page ↑
  • Home
  • Training Center
  • Get Started
  • Membership
  • Products
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Login
Copyright © 2021 Amaxx, LLC. All Rights Reserved. · Privacy Policy / Legal Notice