Employers get employees back to work most often
The key to keeping down the cost of workers’ compensation insurance claims and expedit-ing an employee’s healthy, speedy recovery and return to work rests with employers — not injured employees, according to Pamela Rippens, assistant vice president of Specialty Risk Services (SRS) in Chicago.
"Resolving workers’ compensation claims is easier and less costly if a strong employer/ employee relationship exists from the date of injury through the resolution," Rippens says. "Employers have numerous opportunities to facilitate return to work, so it’s a matter of jumping in to make it happen."
Rippens, a frequent conference speaker on the subject, says the employer’s responsibility includes providing information on the demands of the work environment to treating physicians, inventorying and offering the injured worker modified or transitional duties within the company, providing an employer/employee advocate, and using case managers as relationship managers.
Keeping employees connected
Even something as simple as a weekly phone call to the employee to update that person on what is going on in the company can help an employee remain connected to the firm and come back faster, she says. Rippens cites one example of a West Coast employer who lowered claim costs by 10% after initiating an active Return-to-Work Program. "Savings won’t always be that dramatic, but when you add in the soft costs to a company with extended worker absence, they can be quite significant," she says.
Early reporting of compensation injuries also can result in significant savings. A recent claim study by The Hartford showed claims reported 29 days or more after an accident result in about a 45% increase in loss costs.
"Handling workers’ compensation claims from the date of injury, through return to work, settlement and case closure is a cooperative effort among all the parties involved — the employer, third-party administrator/carrier, physicians, case management firms, and the injured employee," she says.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content