Workers' Compensation: How to Effectively Manage Your Program and Reduce Lawsuit Risks

Workers' Compensation Boot Camp Recording

Tough economic times have forced many insurance carriers to lay off significant portions of their claims staff. As a result, the risk of mishandled claims has skyrocketed, which means you must be much more proactive in monitoring your open claims. Having a solid framework for understanding how the workers’ compensation system works and for implementing its requirements correctly is essential. If you fail in either of these areas, you could become a prime target for fraudulent claims, lawsuits, or even government-issued compliance penalties.

Consider this scenario: One of your employees has recently been cleared for work after returning from a workers' comp leave of absence. Upon returning, he requests a light-duty accommodation. Does this mean he's now protected by the ADA? Does FMLA leave come into play?

HR professionals are asking themselves these questions and more as they struggle to deal with complicated workers' comp regulations. And if that weren't enough to deal with, what happens when you need to terminate the employee for a reason completely unrelated to workers' comp?

In addition, a recent report revealed that workers' compensation-related injuries rose by three percent -- the first time the number of claims rose in 13 years.

This intensive virtual boot camp will explain everything you need to know about handling your workers’ comp claims. Participants will learn how the workers’ comp system works, how to ensure the right written policies are in place, what the ADA changes mean to their workers’ comp program, how to remove the mystery from reserves, and strategies to guard against fraudulent claims and lawsuits.

Each of the four sessions will include about 60 minutes of presentation time followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A. You can submit questions in real time, either over the phone or using the webinar interface -- anonymously, if you wish.

Bring your whole team along, and get everyone trained at the same time for one low price. It’s incredibly convenient, cost-effective training.

Boot Camp Schedule 
(All times below are Eastern – please adjust for your time zone.)

Session 1: 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 
Workers’ Compensation 101

• Workers’ comp law basics
• How to effectively work with treating physicians and insurance carriers to get your employees back to work as soon as possible
• What to do if you think you have a questionable claim on your hands
• What you need to know about the intersection of workers’ comp and HIPAA
• Whether it’s ever okay to terminate an employee who is out on workers’ comp leave
• When you need to consider the FMLA and ADAAA before terminating

Break: 12:15 p.m. –12:30 p.m. 

Session 2: 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. 
Surviving the Return to Work Process Without Pain or Lawsuits

• The maze of legal risks facing employers -- and how to stay safe
• Essential procedures for early identification of workers’ comp claims that will ultimately require you to engage in the interactive process before making a return/modified duty decision
• The role of the claims professionals in preventing -- or creating -- successful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation charges against an employer
• The potentially devastating impact of your words and actions when offered as evidence in a jury trial, including e-mail that could nail you in the courtroom
• When you may be required to offer light duty

Break: 1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. 

Session 3: 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. 
Workers’ Comp Reserves: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Matter

• What you need to know about the reserves process, and how to keep track of what’s going on
• How often you should review your reserves
• When you need to remind the adjuster to check the reserves on a file
• How your file reserves feed directly into your Experience Modification Factor
• How a self-insured program is affected
• How Loss Development Factors can affect your bottom line
• The biggest mistake employers make with respect to the management of their reserve amounts -- and how to avoid it

Break: 3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. 

Session 4: 3:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. 
Identifying and Handling Fraudulent Workers’ Comp Claims

• Red flags to look for in identifying fraudulent claims
• How to handle fraudulent situations
• Common things your local District Attorney would like to see prior to taking on a workers’ comp fraud case
• What is necessary to achieve a conviction
• How a conviction affects the dollars paid out on a claim
• Things you should never do, no matter how fishy a claim seems

Reduce your risk of costly lawsuits -- get the latest news on workers' comp regulations and keep your organization in complete compliance. Register now for this interactive event risk-free.

Workers' Compensation: How to Effectively Manage Your Program and Reduce Lawsuit Risks

About Your Speakers:

Attorney Susan Fahey Desmond is a partner in the New Orleans, Louisiana, office of Jackson Lewis LLP. Ms. Desmond, who maintains an active practice in both Louisiana and Mississippi, specializes in the areas of labor and employment and civil litigation, including representing employers in Family and Medical Leave cases, discrimination claims relative to age, sex, disability, race, religion, and sexual harassment, and handling EEOC charges and other administrative complaints through the administrative and judicial process. She is a frequent speaker for the Council on Education in Management and other management organizations.

Cathy M. Divodi is the owner and a claims consultant with Artemis Claims Consulting. Ms. Divodi has more than 20 years of experience in workers’ compensation claims management and technical management and 10 years of experience in assisting employers and brokers with managing their workers’ compensation claims, multi-state claims management, and management of TPA claim work and reporting. In addition, she is a structured settlement specialist and a workers’ compensation hearing representative.