Members of the workers’ compensation claims management team are on the front line when it comes to investigating a claim and making timely payments of benefits.  Failure to do so can result in penalties to a workers’ comp program and cause interested clients to lose confidence in the process.  Transparency and consistency are key.  Now is the time for all claim handlers and their managers to better understand the various rules and requirements in jurisdictions they handle, apply these procedures correctly and make good faith determinations to avoid common pitfalls in the claims process.

Common Errors that Result in Workers’ Comp Penalties

Many rules govern workers’ compensation insurers and third-party administrators.  It is important the claims management team understands these rules and make proper determinations.

• Frivolous Denial of Liability: Denials of primary must state why a claim is being denied.  This includes stating a factual and legal basis for not paying on a claim or deny specified treatment.  This can also include a failure to fully investigate a workers’ compensation claim in a good faith manner or make inaccurate statements following the investigation.

• Nonspecific Denial of Liability: Denials of primary liability must also be specific.  The requirements to avoid this type of penalty vary, but generally, denials must be sufficiently specific to convey clearly, without further inquiry, the basis for the denial.  Denials based on the premise that the injury did not “arise out of and in the course and scope of employment” must also include additional information supporting this position, so the injured employee knows why a matter is not being paid by the insurance carrier.  Avoid excessive “legalese” when denying a matter.

• Late Denial of Liability: Applicable laws generally require a determination to be made promptly.  In many instances this is between 10-14 days.  When a member of the claim management team receives a reported injury, it is important for them to determine the first day of disability and when the employer received notice of disability.  Knowing this information can ensure the claims professional issues the denial promptly.

• Late Filing of First Report of Injury (FROI): The employer plays an important role in completing the FROI.  This is important as most state workers’ compensation laws require this form be completed and filed with the industrial commission in a timely manner.  Claim handlers must ascertain when the employer receives notice of the injury or disability to determine when the FROI must be filed in a timely manner.  An effective claim management team should help train employers on these issues to avoid delay and penalty.

• Late First Payment of Benefits: There are also time requirements for the insurance carrier or administrator must make payment on admitted claims.  Important information for the claim handler to know to avoid a penalty for late payments includes: the first day of disability, when the employer received notice of the injury or disability, if the employer is paying the ongoing employee wages, and requirements regarding the payment of wage loss benefits.  Coordination and cooperation are

Other Prohibited Claims Practices

Workers’ compensation insurance carriers are also required to operate honestly and ethically.  This includes not acting in bad faith.

Insurance carriers that operate fraudulently may be subject to discipline by a state commerce department.  When underwriting workers’ compensation insurance policies, it is important carriers, and administrators follow through on contractual promises and provide what is covered under the policy.  Failure to do so can result in a carrier not being able to sell insurance in a state or subject to other sanction.

In the same regard, an insurance carrier should avoid bad faith tactics.  This includes not dealing fair with parties subject to an insurance contract.  This duty is known as the “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.”

Conclusions

Members of claim management teams and their insurance carriers have a contractual and ethical obligation to serve their insureds.  This is accomplished by following the rules established under a workers’ compensation statute that require good faith claims practices.  Failure to do so adds to the costs of a workers’ compensation programs and can jeopardize a carrier’s ability to underwrite workers’ compensation policies.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a 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/

©2018 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.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — ODG, an MCG Health company, (USA) has announced a partnership with MyAbilitiesTechnologies to incorporate a unique new product option, the ODG Job Profiler, into its industry-leading medical treatment and return-to-work (RTW) guidelines.

The ODG Job Profiler is an innovative software platform powered by MyAbilities™ which will be made available as an add-on to the ODG by MCG User Interface. The ODG Job Profiler adds job demand data across every industry and occupation by providing a comprehensive database of physical, cognitive, and environmental demands specific to over 30,000 jobs spanning nearly every industry. This solution helps insurers, third-party administrators (TPAs), and employers identify and mitigate the risk of injury by creating a customized Physical Demands Analysis (PDA) for each job function, adjusting disability duration guidelines according to job demands.

Case managers, claims adjusters, site managers, and clinicians will be able to collaborate around job-specific lost-time goals and activity modifications, with the shared goal of expediting return-to-work while implementing proper measures to prevent workplace injuries.

“The ODG Job Profiler offers a valuable complement to our treatment, return-to-work, reserving, and risk-analytics tools, supporting a comprehensive, evidence-based solution set. Innovative and technology-enabled, it enhances efficient collaboration and communication between payer, employer, and provider around what matters most: function. The art and science of return-to-work have never been better,” said Phil LeFevre, Managing Director of ODG.

“We are convinced that all stakeholders will experience better injury prevention and management by using the ODG Job Profiler which is empowered by the congruence of advanced ergonomics, artificial intelligence, digital job-matching, and risk assessment technology. The ODG Job Profiler revolutionizes claim and human asset management by creating a new industry-standard paradigm,” said Reed Hanoun, CEO of MyAbilities.

About MyAbilities

MyAbilities is a technology company delivering workplace risk mitigation and injury management strategies using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robust data analytics.

MyAbilities develops software solutions to help employers assess their jobs, identify risk and prevent injuries using proprietary AI, computer vision, analytics, ergonomic risk analysis, and injury prevention strategies. Post-injury, MyAbilities support claim administrators with an evidence-based claim and medical management software for the resolution of injuries and illnesses in workers’ compensation, and disability programs to reduce costs of claims and expedites return-to-work. More information is available at http://www.myabilities.com.

About ODG

ODG, an MCG Health company, (www.mcg.com/odg) provides unbiased, evidence-based guidelines that unite payers, providers, and employers in the effort to confidently and effectively return employees to health. The clinical guidelines and analytical tools within ODG are designed to improve and benchmark return-to-work performance, facilitate quality care while limiting inappropriate utilization, assess claim risk for interventional triage, and set reserves based on industry data.

About MCG Health

MCG, part of the Hearst Health network, helps healthcare organizations implement informed care strategies that proactively and efficiently move people toward health. MCG’s transparent assessment of the latest research and scholarly articles, along with our own data analysis, gives patients, providers, and payers the vetted information they need to feel confident in every care decision, in every moment. For more information visit www.mcg.com or follow our Twitter handle at @MCG_Health.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Name: Daphne Worrall
Title: Marketing Manager, ODG by MCG
Tel: 406-622-5516
Email: daphne.worrall@mcg.com

Name: Sarah Reid
Director of Operations MyAbilities Technologies
Email: sarah@myabilities.com

Related Links

Visit the ODG website

SOURCE ODG

Related Links

http://www.mcg.com/odg

Most employees injured at work are honest and want to recover and return to their jobs as soon as possible. There are workers, however, who are repeat workers’ comp claim offenders, creating headaches for their employers and those handling their TPA/carrier.

Repeat workers’ comp claim offenders are annoying at best and their claims can be extremely time-consuming and expensive at worst. Before casting aspersions on these employees with multiple workers’ comp claims, or giving up altogether, there are steps you can take to determine a) if the worker is committing workers’ compensation fraud and b) stop him from sustaining repeat injuries.

Legit or Not?

While it may seem obvious that a worker who has frequent injuries is trying to game the system that may not be the case. Diligent employees who are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done may take safety shortcuts or act in others ways that place them at increased risk of injury; the person may be just naturally clumsy, or he may be unaware of the proper ways to undertake certain tasks.

It’s important to separate those who are intentionally getting injured (or claiming to get injured)  from those who just need more and better training and education. Once that is done, you can address the issue(s) at play.

The key to determining why a particular employee has sustained multiple injuries and whether he is intentionally claiming injuries is to conduct a thorough investigation and let the worker know you are aware of it and concerned about him.

Steps to Uncover Intent

You want to find out why the worker continues to be injured. Several strategies should be undertaken before you jump to the wrong conclusion.

1. Resist your first temptation. All employees deserve respect — even repeat offenders. Dealing with the same worker multiple times for injuries can be frustrating. But you won’t uncover the problem unless you approach each injured worker the same and evaluate each claim on its merits. That means giving the worker the benefit of the doubt — at least until and unless you determine something untoward is happening.

2. Investigate the injury. This is always important, but especially so if the person has a history of injuries. The steps should include

• Gather statements about the injury from the employee, supervisor, witnesses, and the treating physician. Try to understand how and why the injury occurred, the extent of the person’s injury and what he is or is not capable of doing during his recovery.
• Determine causation. Talking with the physician and other stakeholders will help determine if the workplace was the actual cause of the injury, or if it was something else. Several steps to determine causation include

• Evidence for a causal relationship – do studies support a link
• Evidence of exposure – highest quality data are quantified personal measurements of the worker’s tasks, while lowest quality are job title or self-report of exposure
• Other relevant factors – comorbidities, prior injuries, etc.
• Judge the validity of the testimony – make a judgment call on what is true or false
• Evaluate and conclude

• Talk to the treating physician. You might get some insights into whether there is a specific problem causing frequent injuries with the worker. You might also determine that the worker is physically incapable of doing the job without risking injury. Even if the employee was cleared to do the work initially, something might have changed in his physical abilities.

• Get peer reviews. If the treating physician is not forthcoming or if you suspect the physician is not providing the best treatment for the injured worker, have another physician intervene. The insurance carrier or TPA may have a medical provider who can speak directly with the treating physician and get answers.

3. Consider root cause analysis. While a formal root cause analysis may be unnecessary, you want to look closely at all the circumstances surrounding the incident, especially if the worker gets repeatedly injured doing the same types of tasks. Rather than laying blame on the worker, you may uncover something else. For example, the worker may put the ladder he uses at the same height as another colleague who is much taller. That could force the worker to have to reach above his head, putting him at risk of injury. His physique may be such that the equipment he’s using is inappropriate for the specific task. Uncovering such a simple cause can be easily rectified.

4. Talk to the injured worker. You may find there is a simple reason the person continually gets injured. Or you may get a sense the worker has something else going on

• Unhappy with supervisor
• Personal challenges at home. Problems with spouses and/or children can distract a worker, so he becomes sloppy with safety practices
• Psychosocial issues
• Anger at the company. The employee may feel overworked, or that he was unfairly passed over for a promotion

If your investigation leads you to believe the worker is truly a frequent claim filer, you should still treat him with respect but make his fraudulent actions more difficult. You want to investigate the claim aggressively. Also, any psychosocial issues of which you are aware should be shared with the claims adjuster and/or TPA.

You may want to find out if the worker has been a frequent claim filer at other companies. Doing an ISO claims search, for example, may point up other instances where the worker has filed multiple workers’ compensation claims.

Conclusion

Employees who file multiple workers’ comp claims can be a drain on money and other resources. If you have a worker who is often injured, you need first to determine if the person is experiencing legitimate injuries or abusing the system. Then determine how you can prevent further injuries or — in the case of a repeat offender — deal head-on with the worker and explain you will be watching him carefully and taking aggressive action up to and including termination.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a 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/

©2018 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.

Handling any workers’ compensation claims can be a challenge, but it is especially the case in catastrophic claims handling for workers’ comp’s most serious injuries. These claims can ruin lives and incur many millions of dollars in costs. Everything done to manage a claim becomes that much more critical when a severe injury is involved.

In addition to getting the right treatment to the injured worker as soon as possible and demonstrating care and concern for the employee as well as his family, it is also vital to investigate these claims as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. In addition to the best practices for claims handling, there are additional strategies that can ensure the best outcomes for employees, employers, and payers.

This article is Part #2 in Catastrophic Claims Handling Strategies, view Part #1 here.

Preserve the Scene

The cost and nature of catastrophic injuries is such you need to determine exactly what happened to cause the accident.

• Was it a safety issue?
• Did a machine malfunction?
• Was it a guarding issue?
• Was it a lack of adequate training?
• Was it due to a vendor’s error?

The answer can make a significant difference in how the claim is handled – not from the injured worker’s standpoint but the claim itself. For example, if it is determined that a piece of equipment malfunctioned, the employer may seek money through subrogation. A training problem may signal the need for better and more frequent training. It may even turn out that the injury was not work-related. Such a determination can only be made by a careful, thorough review of the site and speaking with other workers.

While not a crime scene, all evidence surrounding the accident site should be kept intact to further aid in the investigation. That means not washing down the area – even if it is a gruesome scene. Any equipment that may have been involved should be roped off and made inaccessible to other employees. The employer should be instructed to keep all workers away from the area until it has been properly assessed by the claims adjusters and any other professionals who may be called in.

Team Members

Investigating a claim does not require the claims adjuster to be an expert on everything. But she must know where to get any information needed. A subrogation expert may be needed, for example, if it appears financial liability may be shifted to a vendor or equipment manufacturer.

Additional experts likely needed to fully vet the claim include:

1. Nurse case manager. This is typically the very first person the claims adjuster should contact upon receiving word of a severe injury. Some organizations have dedicated catastrophic nurses who specialize in these cases. The nurse can go to the hospital and meet with the various medical personnel to determine the extent of injuries, the prognosis and the care available at that particular facility.
2. Medical advisor. In addition to the NCM, a physician should be tapped to provide additional expert medical advice. If the worker has severe burns, the medical advisor may suggest transporting him to a burn center for more appropriate treatment, or a top-level trauma center rather than a community hospital. The physician should also obtain emergency room medical records on the injured worker.
3. Safety experts. Members of the safety department should be called in to help understand exactly what happened, why and how. These professionals can help decide what is needed to prevent another similar injury.
4. Home health expert. Once the worker is well enough to return home, decisions must be made about the viability of the home environment, whether modifications will be needed and if a care provider may be needed. The home health expert can work with the team to assess these needs.

Paying the Bills

Payers may be shocked when the first bills arrive on a catastrophic injury claim. There are typically up to 50 pages of itemized charges. These need to be carefully scrutinized to ensure only proper payments are made.

There are companies that specialize in this service. They typically charge a flat fee, then handle all the bills.

For companies that undertake the bill review process on their own, the medical provider can help determine if the charges included are accurate. There are a couple of points to consider:

• Were all services included conducted? Because of the extent of items on the bills, you need to make sure you are charged only for those treatments that were done.
• Were any elective treatments included? Services unrelated to the actual injury should not be included on these bills.

Conclusion

Handling a workers’ compensation claim that involves a catastrophic injury should be done with extreme care. You want to make sure the worker is well taken care of, and that the employer/payer is not paying unnecessary costs. The approach taken can be akin to doing a jigsaw puzzle, where the pieces ultimately fit together to form an accurate picture.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a 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/

©2018 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.

A company may have the best injury-management program possible, yet still, have claims that go south for no apparent reason. Sometimes called ‘creeping catastrophic’ these are claims that involve seemingly minor injuries that should heal fairly quickly and have the employee back at work in short order. For no apparent reason, these claims instead turn into long-term recoveries, with multiple treatments, surgeries, medications, along with exorbitant costs.

There are various reasons for delayed recovery claims. Typically, there are undetected psychosocial risk factors that come into play and render the injured worker unable to heal and return to function.  Identifying, recognizing and intervening early in these claims is key to getting the worker back in action.

Delayed Recovery Claim Risk Factors

Chronic pain is the usual result of injured workers with psychosocial risk factors. For a variety of reasons, they have inadequate coping skills and develop persistent pain long after the injured tissues have healed.

Some of the more common psychosocial risk factors include:

• Catastrophic thinking — a belief that the worst possible outcome is the most likely. The person feels helpless to deal with her pain and exaggerates the threat of pain sensations.
• Fear avoidance/guarding behavior — the worker is unrealistically fearful of hurting himself more, so avoids almost all activity.
• History of depression and/or anxiety
• Perceived injustice — the person feels he has been unfairly harmed and assigns blame; to the employer, coworkers or someone or something else.
• External locus of control — the worker believes someone other than himself can and must heal him, usually the medical provider. The person assumes no responsibility for his own

The worker’s pain persists, despite all medical efforts to heal the injury. These workers often end up having multiple surgeries. The medical provider who does not understand psychosocial factors are at play suggests a variety of treatments to cure the employee’s pain. This further exacerbates the worker’s external locus of control and legitimizes the person’s distress.

Workers with delayed recoveries often end up on a variety of medications, typically including long-term opioid therapy. And still, the pain continues and may even worsen.

Early ID/Intervention to Prevent Delayed Recovery

These claims often slip through the cracks; meaning the people managing them, as well as the employer and payer,  fail to realize the extraordinary timeline and treatments that have been provided for many months or even years. By then, this ‘minor’ injury has turned into a long-term, expensive claim.

Flagging these claims as early as possible is essential to prevent them from rapidly deteriorating. There are a multitude of ways to identify these claims early in the process.

At least one company uses a pain screening questionnaire that has been shown to identify at-risk injured workers as soon as two weeks after an injury. Several insurers and pharmacy benefit management companies have developed programs to key in on at-risk claims fairly soon after an injury. A program that alerts stakeholders to potential problems with a claim is far superior to waiting until someone notices long after the claim has consumed a plethora of treatments and dollars.

Once a high-risk claim has been detected, those involved should intervene using a team approach. Ignoring it is not the way to go. The claim can be kept on track, but only if receives prompt and focused attention.

When psychosocial factors are involved, an approach other than biomedical must be undertaken. A biopsychosocial approach looks at the whole person, beyond just the injury itself.

Functional Restoration

An integrated system that involves several different disciplines involved has been shown to work well in delayed recovery claims. That may include, for example, physical therapy, occupational therapy, case management, psychology, the treating physician, and the injured worker and his family.

The team works in conjunction with one another and communicates among themselves and with the injured worker. Along with the person’s physical ailment, his psychosocial factors must also be addressed.

Among the interventions that are successful in treating injured workers with psychosocial factors are:

1. Pain education. Recent research has shown that pain, specifically chronic pain, causes structural and functional changes in the central nervous system. Rather than a sensation, chronic pain is a result of the person’s biology, psychological makeup, belief system about pain, and interactions with the environment.
2. Cognitive behavioral therapy. This is short term, typically involving a few weeks of sessions. It is goal oriented. Unlike long-term traditional psychotherapy, CBT teaches the injured worker different techniques to change his thinking and behavior, which ultimately teaches him how to cope with his pain.
3. Mindfulness training. Mindfulness meditation teaches the person to bring his attention to experiences in the present, rather than ruminating about his pain and injury.
4. This technique helps the worker gain more awareness of his physiological functions so he can ultimately control them. Instruments that provide information on the activity of certain bodily systems are used. People using biofeedback have been able to control their brainwaves, muscle tone, heart rate and pain perception.
5. Exercise/activity. Movement is one of the most effective treatments to help patients with chronic pain.
6. This can help the worker change his perceptions, thoughts and behaviors in guided practice.
7. Relapse prevention training. Strategies such as coping skills, the individuation of triggers for relapse, and self-monitoring techniques can help the injured worker stay grounded and avoid the negative thinking and behaviors that contribute to his chronic pain.

Conclusion

Workers’ comp delayed recovery claims represent approximately 10 percent of claims, but consume 80 percent of medical and indemnity costs. Too often they go unnoticed until they become nearly out of control. By understanding how to identify or recognize them early and intervening with proven techniques, the worker can recover and regain function.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a 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/

©2018 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.

Workers’ comp retraining claims made by injured workers can be expensive and time-consuming.  When addressing retraining claims, it is important to members of the claim management team to evaluate the situation and make a reasoned response.  This not only saves money in the long run, but promotes program efficiency.

What is Workers’ Comp Retraining?

Workers’ comp retraining is a vocational rehabilitation benefit available to an injured worker.  In order to qualify, the employee usually is required to demonstrate they are not able to return to their pre-injury position and require additional education or instruction to achieve a wage comparable to their status prior to the injury.  Permanent restrictions and attaining maximum medical improvement/need for future medical treatment are also important factors.

The benefits to an employee (and underlying cost to a workers’ compensation program) involve the following:

• Payment for education or retraining to gain additional transferable skills. This is not limited to tuition at a school.  It can also include the payment for books, materials, and other fees associated with a program; and

• Wage loss benefits during the retraining period. The rationale for paying an employee additional wage loss benefits beyond what is otherwise required while they go to school is to allow them to focus on their education and not worry about other matters of concern.

Properly Evaluating a Workers’ Comp Retraining Plan

A workers’ comp retraining plan will outline the coursework the employee will undertake, along with the skills they will gain upon completion.  It will take into consideration the types of positions available to the employee following completion of a program and likely wages.  This is an expensive proposition and should not be taken lightly.

Factors to consider vary in each jurisdiction.  Some common themes to review when evaluating a retraining plan should include:

• The reasonableness of a plan compared to the employee’s ability to return to work with an employer through job placement services: Before retraining is considered, an injured worker should conduct some semblance of a job search.  While this does not need to be exhaustive, an evaluation should be made as to whether the employee has sought work within their restrictions.  This job search should also include a variety of different positions, and not necessarily within the area the employee was performing at the time of the work injury;

• The likelihood the employee will succeed in the formal course of study as part of the retraining plan: The cost of any retraining plan, even if it involves a two-year course of study is expensive.  Part of the review should examine whether the employee can complete the desired course.  A careful evaluation of any proposed program should include the employee’s prior education, how they performed in the classroom and if an absence from a formal learning environment will result in failure.  It may be necessary for someone with a minimal educational history to take remedial courses;

• The likelihood as to whether the retraining program will result in reasonably attainable employment: This review should include a labor market survey of positions the employee will enter once they complete their retraining plan.  Questions should be asked as to what jobs are open in the employee’s labor market and whether they will be around once the coursework is completed.  While there are many unknowns given an ever-changing economy, this is an important factor to consider; and

• The likelihood as to whether the retraining will produce an economic status as close as possible to that which the employee would have enjoyed without the work injury/disability: It is important to determine what wages an employee will realistically receive following completion of a course.  Areas to examine include job placement services of the educational institution the employee will attend and how they are viewed in the marketplace.  It is also important to determine whether the employee will be eligible for only entry-level positions, and how quickly they may advance.

Conclusions

Vocational retraining is an expensive benefit available to injured workers.  Given the dynamics and exposures, it is important for proactive members of the claim management team to pay close attention to when someone is making a claim.  This review includes various factors regarding their efforts to find work before making a claim, their chances of success and the end result.  Failure to take these steps can result in unnecessary steps to any workers’ compensation program.

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a 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/

©2018 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.