37 Ten Best Tips for Workers’ Compensation

10 Best Tips for Managing a Successful Workers’ Compensation Program

Steve Heinen

Is anyone concerned that we have seen the largest back-to-back indemnity benefit increase in the history of Georgia’s Workers’ Compensation system? Proponents argue the weekly indemnity rate is one of the lowest in the nation, which is true.

But—and there always is a but…

The most recent Compscope report from the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) details that we have one the highest indemnity benefit payout of any state in the 18-state study. So, despite having the lowest indemnity rate of any state in the study, Georgia’s indemnity and expenses are forty-eight percent (48%) higher than the median of the other states in the 18-state study (California’s TTD cap is 1,356 and Illinois’s TTD cap is 1,734).

In Georgia, over forty percent (44.2%) of claimants retain counsel, and claimants in our state have a much longer duration of disability. This study was completed before the back-to-back indemnity increases. With Georgia’s TTD and TPD rates increasing at a record clip, you can expect the disparity of higher indemnity and litigation expenses in Georgia to continue. Short of legislative changes needed to address the “why” behind our length of indemnity and high attorney involvement, employers need to meet this challenge by digging to improve their risk management program.

The good news is our system has not seen many changes since 1994 and that stability has created a predictable system.

In 2002, I developed a process called comP4®, which takes a holistic approach to Workers’ Compensation. It looks at twenty-one (21) activities from Pre-hire, Post-offer, and Prevention to Post Claim. Here are my Top 10 comP4® tips for managing Workers’ Comp:

1. Develop a safety culture that the employee feels on Day 1 of hire. We recommend an employee safety perception survey every three years to ensure your safety culture is thriving. 2. Develop written job descriptions including physical demands analysis to be used in the hiring process. These job descriptions are essential to Board Rule 240 and will significantly reduce the lag time in getting employees back to work. 3. Become a certified drug-free workplace and utilize a refusal of treatment form. 4. Utilize an effective post-offer health questionnaire. 5. Develop a meaningful new hire and ongoing safety training program. In addition to meeting your Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) obligations, the Burdette case also established a willful misconduct defense for employees willfully refusing to follow safety rules. An effective and accountable safety program creates accountability. The goal of every safety program is to send employees home safely every day. 6. Establish a safety committee to gather feedback and share safety information. 7. Discipline employees who fail to follow safety rules and training. Points 5, 6, and 7 are keys to establishing a Burdette defense. 8. Create a return-to-work process. **Note, I didn’t say program because you need to include several parties in the process. The employee is involved, but you should also include the supervisor, the medical provider, and the adjuster. I rarely see everyone working together, which creates opportunities for the claimant attorneys to drag out the claim and resolve the case with a settlement accompanied by a voluntary resignation letter. 9. Create a timely incident reporting program. I recommend utilizing a third-party platform to assist customers with their claim reporting and management, but you can develop an internal process. Lag time significantly increases cost, especially in a highly litigated system like Georgia. Therefore, timely reporting along with an

effective incident analysis is a critical part of an effective work comp program. Also, remember, that notice to a supervisor constitutes notice in Georgia. 10. Develop a claim action plan. I recommend a 3/7/21-day plan. Claims that start on track through the first 21 days typically stay on track.

Here is the 3/7/21-day plan:

• 3 days – review the claim to determine if it is medical only or if you think it will become a lost time claim. If you believe it will become a lost time claim, activate the 7 and 21 day plan. • 7 days –the employer should be sending things to the adjuster to help them manage the claim. This could include a circle and signed copy of the panel, the WC-207, the incident report, and a copy of the post-offer health questionnaire. • 21 days – the adjuster has reviewed all the information, including their own internal info (like the ISO report), and makes a compensability decision.

Education and communication are the two keys to managing a Workers’ Compensation claim. If the employee trusts the employer before the injury, they are far less likely to retain counsel after the injury. According to Clara Analytics, litigated claims increase costs by 347%, so investing in an integrated Workers’ Compensation program makes cents.

Georgia has enjoyed a ten-plus-year run where rates have declined. With the recent indemnity increases coupled with expanded litigation costs, Georgia employers will most likely see rate increases soon. Now is the time to build an accountable and effective workplace safety program.

Steve Heinen, a partner at Sterling Seacrest Pritchard. He developed the P4 process (now comP4®) in 2000 and it has been utilized by hundreds of organizations to reduce costs. His Work Comp Playbook for Employers has sold over 2,000 copies and his Compass Risk Management System is designed to help organizations implement a proven risk management process.

or more. To Kirby’s point about Georgia’s games last fall and the fourth quarter: Only two UGA games last fall went into the final quarter in doubt - Clemson and the College Football Playo National Championship Game. Every other fourth quarter of Georgia games was a sleepwalk.

Long considered a defensive-minded coach, Kirby and his Bulldogs have matured into one of the most explosive o enses in the country. Yes, the Bulldogs’ defense was one of or the major reasons the Dawgs won it all in 2021, but Georgia’s o ense has gone to a new level of explosion the likes of which have not been seen since Mike Bobo was calling plays for Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley.

That group would fly up and down the field - putting up 37.8 points a game in the rugged SEC. Even with that sort of scoring, Georgia’s 2012 team watched helplessly as their national title hopes melted away against Alabama on the final play of the game.

After two fourth-quarter drives built a 26-18 advantage for the Dawgs, Georgia’s 2021 o ense didn’t have to worry about winning on the final play against Alabama. The job was already done as the final seconds clicked o the clock. Kelee Ringo made sure of that after Stetson Bennett’s touchdown passes to AD Mitchell and Brock Bowers capped those two scoring drives.

2021’s transition confirms that Georgia is no longer a grind-itout o ense. But its head coach thinks the Dawgs are going to have to keep up the explosiveness in 2022 if they want to keep having success.

“We will have to be even better and more explosive on offense next year because we probably don’t have five first rounders on our team,” Kirby said.

Georgia almost certainly doesn’t have five first-round

AFTER TWO FOURTH-QUARTER DRIVES BUILT A 26-18 ADVANTAGE FOR THE DAWGS, GEORGIA’S 2021 OFFENSE DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WINNING ON THE FINAL PLAY AGAINST ALABAMA. THE JOB WAS ALREADY DONE AS THE FINAL SECONDS CLICKED OFF THE CLOCK.

GEORGIA IS NO LONGER A GRIND-IT-OUT OFFENSE. BUT KIRBY SMART THINKS THE DAWGS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP UP THE EXPLOSIVENESS IN 2022 IF THEY WANT TO KEEP UP THE SUCCESS.

players who will be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft on the entire roster. So Kirby is correct in pointing out that Georgia is going to have to get it done with explosion through the air.

The Dawgs lost their top two running backs in Zamir White and James Cook, who were weapons in the passing game, too. But their prowess on the ground will have to be replaced. Contrast that with the fact that although Georgia lost Jermaine Burton to Alabama through the NCAA’s Transfer Portal, six of the Dawgs’ top eight receivers came back to help returning starting quarterback Stetson Bennett in 2022.

“Stetson had a really good spring, too. Stetson went out and made some plays,” Kirby said. “He’s grown and gotten better. This is a guy that didn’t get these reps (in past spring practices). You think of a national championship quarterback: ‘Oh, he got all the reps last spring’. He didn’t. He wasn’t the guy. He was the third-string last spring. So some of these were his first time getting reps. He is also very comfortable in Coach Monken’s o ense, which is going to give us a chance to be more successful.”