The ultimate goal is to have an effective safety program that eliminates work-related injuries. In a previous blog I discussed how to create a safety program. Unfortunately, even when all of the steps are followed, sometimes mistakes are made by employees or others that result in a work-related injury and the need for medical treatment. When an injury occurs, an established and effective claims management program can help minimize the costs of the injury and help keep a company’s workers compensation loss history strong. An effective claims management program should include the following:

Timely Reporting of Injuries or Near Misses – As part of a company’s written policies and procedures, a requirement for reporting work-related injuries or near miss accidents should be established. Employees should be required to report injuries before leaving work that day. Near misses should be reported immediately, if possible.

Designated Medical Provider – If an employee requires medical treatment, the employee should be directed to a medical provider designated by the employer. Typically an occupational medical clinic is best for non emergency injuries. Most workers compensation carriers have preferred providers that offer quality medical care and are familiar with work-related injuries and are able to accomplish great outcomes.

Company/Supervisor Involvement – Companies that are involved with their claims typically achieve better outcomes. Several studies indicate that an important factor in claims outcomes is associated with how employees are treated when they initially file a claim and how they are treated after they have filed a claim. Employers should maintain contact with injured employees and let them know that they care about the employee’s recovery and that they would like to get them back to work as soon as medically possible.

Return-To-Work Program – Getting an employee back to work as soon as possible not only reduces disability costs associated with a workers compensation claim, but more importantly, returning an employee to work can be an important step in achieving more favorable long term claims outcomes.

Justin Rowley is Vice President Risk Management at A Plus Benefits, Inc.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 28th, 2007 at 8:41 am and is filed under Human Resources, Risk Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.