Dirty Little Secrets Part 2 Of 5

by | Nov 20, 2014 | Claims, Commercial, Experience Mod, Farrell Backlund, Insurance Cost, Workers Compensation

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkNObTFWH_8]

 

Here is another little secret for you.  A supervisor is more important than a doctor when it comes to a workers’ compensation claim.  Now that may sound crazy!  How could a supervisor be more important than a treating physician when it comes to a claim?  A supervisor is the first person to react to a workers’ compensation claim.  The way they react to that claim has a significant impact on that claim.

  • Their initial reaction whether it be empathy or anger will dictate the success or failure of the claim
  • Their knowledge of the workers’ compensation process will dictate the success or failure of the claim
  • Their ability to develop a comfort level for an injured employee will dictate the success or failure of the claim
  • Their ability to facilitate getting the proper medical care will dictate the success or failure of the claim

You see, 99% of people that are entering the workers’ compensation system are doing so for the first time.  They don’t understand the process, they are scared, they are injured and they need to be given a comfort level about the process itself.

This can work one of two ways.

  1. You are injured today and you go to your boss saying “Boss I hurt my back picking something up. I don’t think I picked it up the right way”  he or she may react with a negative comment or maybe he belittles you in front of your co-workers or just yells at you in his office telling you “ I told you not to do that!  You’re a jerk!  Get out of here!”   This reaction will most assuredly kick off a very bad workers’ compensation claim.  With this kind of reaction, that Supervisor has started a downward spiral where the workers’ compensation claim can get out of control.  Unfortunately this is not much of an exaggeration and happens every day and we at FBinsure see it all too often.  On the other hand the situation can take another path.

 

  1. You are injured today and you go to your boss saying “Boss I hurt my back picking something up. I don’t think I picked it up the right way. I know you told me not to do it but I’m in a lot of pain and I need to do something about it” this time he or she reacts by saying “Don’t worry, this is why we have workers’ compensation insurance.   We have the proper medical care that we are going to get for you right away so you don’t have to go sit in the Emergency Room at the hospital for 8 hours or more.  What we are going to do is get you fast-tracked to the Occupational Health Clinic that we have a good relationship with so you get the best medical care and on a timely basis.  When you are finished there we will talk to you about what the next steps will be”.

 

In scenario B you are far less likely to pay your attorney a visit to see what the extent of your injuries are.  When you go through the a planned and proven workers’ compensation process, the process will work the way it is designed to work and get you back to work as quickly and timely as possible.

If you missed part 1 you can see it HERE

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