Workers’ Compensation “Working” for Employer and Employee
Medical chart review is vital in a workers’ comp case. Workers’ compensation is beneficial for both employer and employee.
MOS: Medical Record Review Service 8596 E. 101st Street, Suite H Tulsa, OK 74133
A “no-fault system,” workers’ compensation insurance protects both employers and employees. Employees receive the benefits due to them after a medical chart review and other formalities that can clearly establish the injury or illness. Almost all workers are eligible for this insurance benefits irrespective of the number of hours worked or payment. Full-time and part-time workers, seasonal workers, volunteers are all eligible for workers’ compensation. As providers of medical record review for attorneys handling workers’ comp cases, we understand that even small business owners must cover themselves by a good workers’ compensation policy. Workers’ Compensation Reforms Have a Role to Play Workers’ compensation seems to be working for both employers and employees in Tennessee, as recent news indicate. For instance, it is estimated that workers’ comp rates will drop again in 2018 for most Tennessee’s businesses. This is attributed to an overhaul
of
the
system
three
years
ago
in
keeping
with
the
governor’s
recommendations. The “loss cost” to insurance companies in paying Tennessee workers’ comp claims declined last year by 12.6%, according to the calculations of the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). This will reduce the premiums businesses will have to pay when new rates take effect in March 2018. The former governor of Tennessee had introduced a workers’ compensation reform package in 2004 that required mediation before a disputed claim went to court, lowered some benefits, and eliminated a provision of the old law that said courts should “liberally construe” the statutes to ensure that workers got paid. The reform by the present governor of Tennessee is much more extensive. •
The new law has workers’ compensation claims bypassing the court system and sent to a Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims and a Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, all of which come under a Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
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The law considerably simplified and streamlined the process, thereby benefiting both workers and their employers.
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To some extent it narrowed the definition of a workplace injury such as leaving out things such as a basketball game on the organization property, and included provisions speeding up payments.
Major Positive Impacts of Workers’ Comp Reforms Other positive impacts of the reform are highlighted in the Bureau of Workers Compensation 2017 annual report issued in July this year.
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(800) 670 2809
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The average time from an injury occurring to conclusion of a filed claim is reduced to less than a year (49 weeks) after the reform. Before the overhaul, this period used to be more than 5 years (263 weeks).
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Payments have been speeded up considerably.
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Now, 85% of workers have come back to work after settlement, whereas earlier only 65% returned.
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Earlier, 63% of the mandatory mediation resulted in a settlement. Now it is 75%.
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Before the new law, the average duration of a “temporary total disability” claim was 240 days whereas now it is 66 days.
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The law revised the legal definition of various disability statuses and the procedure for establishing the extent of injuries or disabilities from a medical standpoint.
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The law created an ombudsman’s office as a primary contact point to work with injured workers and their employers. According to the report, that office fielded more than 21,000 contacts in the 2016 FY, and problems were resolved in more than 13,000 of those.
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A handbook has been made available to injured workers who don’t have a lawyer, along
with
a
page,
tweeting
judges,
and
other
social
media
communication such as blogs. The new system has met with the approval of lawyers as well, even those representing injured workers and were unhappy with certain aspects in the legislative lobbying arena. Coming to the benefits paid to a worker, at present Tennessee has a maximum weekly payment of $992.20 per month (in 2016 this was $976.80) for total temporary disability. This is higher than 31 other states. Virginia has a higher maximum weekly benefit level, $1,043 according to August figures. The lowest amount $477 is for Mississippi; North Carolina has $978, Kentucky has $835, and Arkansas $661. Workers’ Comp Reforms Led to Improvement in Overall Business Climate Reforming workers’ compensation in Tennessee is regarded as a significant step towards improving the state’s business climate and growing high quality jobs. In August this year, the state’s unemployment rate fell to 3.3%, the lowest rate in the Southeast. The state’s willingness to provide higher workers’ compensation benefits overall could be considered a factor in calculating job quality. The lower workers’ compensation costs mentioned at the outset is by and large the result of the 2014 workers’ compensation reforms introduced in Tennessee. At the same time, a fall in the number of on-the-job injuries indicates safer workplaces in general.
www.mosmedicalrecordreview.com
(800) 670 2809
Any provider of medical chart review and other services for workers compensation attorneys knows how much attorneys advocate for safe workplaces and constructive reforms for this insurance program. So, revisions such as the 2014 reforms in Tennessee are welcome because they could really work for both the employer and employee. In the Tennessee governor’s words, “Workers’ compensation and tort reform brought muchneeded predictability to our business climate.”
www.mosmedicalrecordreview.com
(800) 670 2809