Using workers' compensation insurance, sometimes referred to as "workers comp," is necessary if you're in independent contractor or if you have employees. These laws provide benefits for you or an employee who sustains an injury at work. These laws assure that if you’ll receive appropriate medical care, reimbursement for lost wages, and, if necessary, rehabilitation and retraining to return to work.

Most workers injured on the job recover quickly, and beyond filing an initial injury report to qualify them for benefits, require no significant detailed information of workman's comp insurance systems. Those seriously injured may benefit by talking with a labor attorney. State laws and statutes have jurisdiction in many aspects of the case, including:

1. The handling of claims and the eligibility requirements to receive benefits under workman comp insurance;

2. The evaluation of the extent of the injury and dispute settlement regarding workman's compensation insurance;

3. The amount of compensation and benefit that the injured worker should receive.

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Know your benefits when you file a claim for workers comp insurance

The primary benefits of workman's comp include reimbursement for lost wages, payment of medical and/or rehabilitative care and, in some instances, death benefits. In regards to lost wages, workers compensation provides for lost wages for temporary or permanent disability. Each state has its own regulations regarding the eligibility, claim process and benefit compensation.

I recommend: WorkersCompensation.com allows you to click on your state for benefits information tailored to your specific location. In some instances, you or your employee may need a case manager. The State of Vermont website details when that may be necessary.

Assess the work related injury and file a claim with workers compensation insurance companies

To file a claim for workman's comp insurance benefits, the injury must occur while working. For example, workman's comp insurance does not cover an injury that occurs while the employee is on the premises taking a lunch break.

I recommend: To see if an injury sustained while working can be claimed under workman's comp laws, look at the examples of injuries covered in the ABA Family Legal Guide at FindLaw. Another excellent resource for workman's comp issues and claim filing information is the State Workers' Compensation Agency, which lists workmen's comp insurance information for each state.

Transition back to work after a workers comp claim

When it's time to return to work, you or your employee can return to the original job or a similar position held prior to the injury. Medical clearance provided by the treating doctor may require restricted work for a while. Take advantage of programs that can help you or your employee ease back into the workplace for a smooth transition.

I recommend: Risk and Insurance Solutions features an article about the benefits to employers and employees when an employee returns to the jobsite after a workers comp claim. The article on InjuryBoard emphasizes the importance of working with a doctor to ensure a safe transition back into the workplace.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Have your physician completely fill out the medical claim forms necessary for your workers comp insurance claim. This will avoid any delay in processing your claim and accessing your funds.

Workers' compensation is a large expense for small businesses. Compensation for injured employees includes medical bills, payments for lost time and damages for any permanent injuries. Every state requires that employers provide compensation for any and all work-related injuries.

A lower accident rate means fewer workers' comp claims and lower costs. It starts with these key actions:

1. Uphold all workplace safety standards
2. Thoroughly train employees on safety issues
3. Be diligent about your policy coverage

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Incorporate ergonomics into the workplace

Most workplace injuries today are cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs), which are injuries that result from the stress of repetitive motion. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a common office-related CTD. Ergonomics, the study of workplace equipment to increase productivity by reducing injury and discomfort, reduces instances of CTDs.

I recommend: Find ergonomic tips for your office on the AME Info site. Future Industrial Technologies offers ergonomics training programs.

Train your employees to make safety a priority

As obvious as it may sound, poorly trained employees account for all kinds of workplace injuries. Get employees involved and require that all workers complete safety training courses. Establish a written safety policy that is distributed to all employees.

I recommend: Safety training programs are available from the Painters and Allied Trades Labor Management Cooperation Initiative. Business and Legal Reports offers an audio conference training CD.

Verify workplace safety requirements

The number one way to cut workers' comp costs is to lower the incident rate. Get rid of clutter to prevent slips and falls. Make sure all chemicals or hazardous substances are stored in proper containers. In a job that involves any sort of physical labor, ensure that all workers receive instruction about their tasks. Seemingly obvious safety precautions should be rechecked on a regular basis for maximum prevention.

I recommend: NYSIF contains a safety checklist for your workplace.

Keep meticulous records

Require all employees to immediately report all incidents. Have a functioning method of managing claims. Once you have a solid compensation program in place, speedy implementation will result in lower costs.

I recommend: Software and other tools are available for tracking reports and minimizing company costs. System Interface Consultants has a page full of resources. Occupational Hazards has ways to reduce workers' comp costs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Because there is always a possibility of fraud, require medical records and other secondary forms of injury verification. Drug tests are common requirements for workers claiming compensation.
• •  Some states have organizations that lobby for compensation reform. State-specific resources may be available for your company.
• •  Aside from incident prevention and efficient program execution, you also can save money by focusing on quickly getting injured workers back to work. Take an interest in their health and recovery, and support their early return.
• •  A positive attitude about safety will ease the implementation of new policies and programs.

The workers comp insurance program is a set of state and federal laws which provides benefits for workers injured on the job. The goal of this system is to help the injured employee pay for medical care and to reimburse lost wages that may occur when it is not feasible to work because of the injury sustained.

In order to assure that your organization is administering workman's compensation insurance benefits properly, it is important that you require training for workers' compensation insurance benefit administration for all human resource employees who work with employee safety issues, claims and overall cost containment processes. These processes focus on:

1. Payment of the employee's medical and/or hospital bills as covered by workers comp insurance.

2. Lost wages, known as "indemnity payments," of the injured employee.

3. Rehabilitation expenses, medication reimbursement, and transportation mileage to/from any related medical providers.

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Provide appropriate staff with educational resources for help in administering workers comp benefits

The time after an accident occurs to an employee may have some costly issues for management personnel in all types of industries and businesses. Many people are involved in an employee's claim, including individual workers compensation insurance companies, physicians, case managers and management staff from the employer. It is important to have staff that is aware of how to successfully investigate employee accidents and injuries. They should be aware of how to effectively communicate with all the parties involved, as well as to how to manage the post injury issues.

I recommend: In order to effectively administer workman comp insurance benefits, employers can find a variety of training programs at HRTrainingCenter.com and the Insurance Educational Association, which gives key administrators the necessary tools to address the issues that come after an on-the-job injury.

Find training programs which provide a national certification regarding workmans comp insurance

There are many workmens comp insurance programs that offer a national certification for staff, which also provides access to industry experts to help the staff to acquire the most up to date knowledge and job skills critical to their success.

I recommend: One of the certifications programs focuses on Integrated Leave Management Training & Certification, which is ideal for all human resource professionals, management and department heads, as well as and Third Party Administrators (workmens compensation insurance companies and workers compensation carriers) who handle the day-to-day issues and administration of ADA, FMLA, COBRA, or workers' comp. International Society Of Workers Compensation Specialists offers another national certification that is a comprehensive program that addresses every major "cost driving" component and also provides to each student a wealth of proven solutions that can be quickly used in the workplace.

Re-evaluate and adjust your organizations safety needs and training to avoid workers comp claims

A business can identify many of the safety issues and needs when you compile the annual evaluation of employee injuries and safety violations. These are important to evaluate and trend so you can identify training needs for correction. This plan should be in writing and approved by management staff.

I recommend: A valuable resource to help businesses formalize their safety team, formulate effective injury prevention strategies and quantify the economic impact of worker injuries is CompEraser. This service compares and benchmarks employees’ injuries, safety issues and cost of the injury per employee. OSHA has workplace safety standards, laws and regulations that make the employer legally responsible for educating employees on workplace safety standards. An annual evaluation of organization's workmans comp injuries can aid in the identification of potential employee injuries.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If an employee happens to be working two jobs and they sustain a workplace injury, the employee may be entitled to receive workers comp benefits that reflect payment of lost wages from both jobs.

Every state, with the exception of Texas, requires businesses to carry workers compensation insurance. There are two main reasons companies are required to have this insurance. The first is to ensure that employees who are injured at work are taken care of financially. Typically, injured employees are eligible to have their medical expenses covered as well are receive a portion of their pay. The other purpose of workers compensation insurance is to protect employers from potential lawsuits from injured employees. It is vital to know the basics of workers compensation since there are legal requirements for almost every state.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Workers compensation insurance

Workers compensation insurance is an insurance policy carried by businesses that covers the medical costs and a portion of lost wages for an employee who is injured on the job. This insurance is required by law in every state.

I recommend: For a general overview of workers compensation and all of its components, go to Insurance Information Institute. It's a great place to start. For an overview of workers compensation laws in your specific state, visit Workers Compensation Insurance.com.

National Council on Compensation Insurance

The National Council on Compensation Insurance is the country's largest collector of workers compensation data, training and legal updates.

I recommend: NCCI Holdings is the company that oversees the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Anyone interacting with workers compensation insurance will want to be familiar with this resource well.

Employer's liability coverage

Employer's liability coverage covers the company and its officers and directors from lawsuits filed by employees. This type of insurance can cover many different types of claims, including workers compensation.

I recommend: A great overview of this type of coverage can be found on the TechInsurance website.

Waiting period

A waiting period within the realm of workers compensation requires an injured employee to wait a specified number of days before any benefits are paid to that employee. The purpose is to decrease frivolous claims. Each state has different waiting period requirements.

I recommend: For detailed information on how waiting periods work, see HRS.

Personal injury

Again, the exact definition of personal injury varies from state to state. In general, personal injury results when an injury occurs to an employee at a specific date and time while the employee is performing work-related duties.

I recommend: For a list of the most common types of personal injury claims, visit Legaltarget.com.

No fault

Workers compensation laws are built around the concept of no fault. This means that fault on the part of the employee or the employer is really immaterial. Of course there are some instances, such as intoxication, where fault does come into play.

I recommend: There is a good overview of the no-fault system at Elay Law Firm. Although this firm is based in Colorado, the overview applies to all no- fault systems.