Reducing Workers' Compensation Claims Through Safety Compliance

Each year, U.S. employers face approximately 4.9 million workers' compensation claims, costing a staggering $100.2 billion. With the average claim totaling around $41,000, a high frequency of incidents can result in soaring insurance premiums, lost productivity, lower morale, and even high turnover. More critically, frequent claims often point to an unsafe work environment.
Investing in a culture of safety and cultivating proactive risk management strategies are the best ways to protect your team and your bottom line.

Common Causes of Workers’ Compensation Claims

When it comes to workers' compensation claims, some extremely common causes include slips and trips, falls from elevation; overexertion and improper lifting, vehicle or machinery-related incidents, and exposure to harmful substances or work environments. Below, we will briefly examine some of the key causes of workers' compensation claims:

• Slips, trips, and falls are the most common cause of claims across all industries. Falling from elevation can result in severe injuries, but don’t overlook falling on the same level. Controlling these is usually a straightforward process. Be on the lookout for employees accessing elevated platforms, wet or uneven surfaces, cluttered workspaces, and inadequate lighting, which can all contribute to falls.
• Improper lifting, whether quickly or over time, commonly leads to employee injuries, especially among new workers who are not conditioned to the activity. Proper training should be provided to employees to ensure they are lifting heavy objects in the safest and most efficient manner. Also, whether changing our equipment or workstation design might help the situation.
• Repetitive strains occur when a worker becomes injured over time from completing the same (or at least similar) motions too frequently. Because these injuries can affect different parts of the body, this is a common claim that can occur in nearly all industries. Our first thought is of a miner or construction worker who may be lifting heavily all day, but what about an office worker? Prolonged sitting and repetitive motions like typing can also lead to soft tissue injuries and nerve damage, which will impact a worker’s quality of life and can be difficult to treat.
• Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Injuries from the machinery and trucks used on the job are another common cause of workers’ compensation cases. There is a lot of ground to cover here, from machine guarding, running maintenance on equipment, forklifts or cranes moving loads, and mobile equipment operator training programs, to name a few. Even with top-notch machine safeguarding and employee training, accidents can still happen, and employers should be prepared.
• Exposure to Harmful Substances or environments can take many forms depending on the hazards associated with your particular operations. Maybe there is a lot of welding, and we need to measure the concentration of metal fumes. Perhaps the work environment is very noisy, and we need to make sure employees are being protected by the earplugs provided. Harmful substances or environments can include hazards inherent in the process or an unintended consequence of that process, such as a chemical leak. Workers need to know how to respond to this and be prepared and equipped.

Safety and Health Programs

By now, you can appreciate the sheer volume of workplace hazards. Because they are too numerous to list, all employers are advised to establish a comprehensive health and safety program specific to their organization as a foundational prevention effort. This will help protect employees and save time and money in the long run.

Developing a comprehensive health and safety program requires understanding the factors contributing to past workplace incidents and injuries and devising creative and technically sound controls to address problems identified with a focus on preventing reoccurrence. The main goals for this process include:

• Identifying areas where uncontrolled hazards occur and getting everyone informed on the situation
• Developing loss control measures that could improve the situation, being sure to involve as many of the affected parties as you can
• Encouraging participation at all levels by asking employees, managers, and other stakeholders to join the analysis process and promote safety in the workplace
• Being proactive to reduce the risk of future injuries, responding to issues that are reported or appear, and setting all this up in a framework of continuous improvement.

Work should not stop there. Establish a comprehensive tracking system for claims to ensure no detail is overlooked. Use a single platform to store claim-related information, such as medical reports and communication records. Set up automatic alerts for critical deadlines such as medical appointments, benefit distributions, or follow-ups. This system will help identify trends in the claims so the organization can develop efficient prevention strategies and pursue them actively.

Building a Proactive Safety Culture

We've all heard the saying, "Work smarter, not harder." In other words, actively create a safe environment for employees by staying ahead of potential incidents. How can employers achieve this? Ensure the organization is providing ongoing training and education. Regular workshops on safe habits and injury prevention can help lower accident risks and keep workers informed about the claims processes and their rights. Informing the staff on hazards in their workplace goes a long way to preventing injuries.

Get employees involved. Encourage workers to report hazards and celebrate safety successes. For some employers, having a safety committee can be beneficial. Giving employees opportunities to get involved in safety decisions means they are more aware of the risks within their workplace and have more at stake in finding a solution. This collaboration between the organization and its workers can go a long way toward building a proactive safety culture.

Finally, encourage near-miss reporting. If a worker reports unsafe conditions, unsafe behavior from coworkers, events where injury could have occurred but didn't happen, or minor incidents that could have resulted in serious harm, it will help the organization become more proactive. Near-miss reporting allows the company to identify weaknesses in its risk management programs, correct them, and enhance worker safety. It also gives workers a voice and empowers them to protect themselves and others.

Invest in Preventive Measures

Investing in preventive measures for workers' compensation and safety is essential for long-term savings and the well-being of employees. Here are a few key areas to focus on:

• Ergonomic Assessments and Interventions: Regularly evaluate workstations and tasks to ensure they are ergonomically sound. This can help reduce strain injuries and improve productivity.
• Equipment Maintenance and Upgrades: Keeping equipment in good shape and upgrading it when necessary can prevent accidents and ensure a safer working environment.
• Clear Signage and Safety Protocols: Proper signage and clear safety protocols help workers understand potential hazards and the correct procedures to follow, reducing the risk of accidents.
• Site Audits and Hazard Assessments: Regular audits and assessments can identify potential hazards before they cause harm, allowing for timely interventions.
• Use of Wearables/Technology: Implementing wearable technology can monitor workers' health and safety in real time, providing data that can be used to prevent injuries and improve safety practices.

Streamline the Reporting Process

Can you sense a recurring theme? Being proactive is the most effective way to prevent injuries. This approach extends to injury reporting as well. Reporting an incident promptly benefits the organization and the employee. When incidents are reported quickly, employees gain access to medical care and workers' compensation benefits faster.

Additionally, the employer can avoid higher claim costs and address the workplace hazard before another employee becomes affected. Want a faster claims process, cost savings, and an improved workplace? Report quickly; report with accurate and sufficient details. Any delay in filing can lead to denied claims, increased costs, and the potential for the hazard to continue longer.

Employees and their supervisors should fully understand how to report injuries so the process can unfold smoothly. Employers should develop detailed training materials highlighting the reporting process, have regular training that includes any changes or updates to the procedure, and emphasize the importance of early reporting. If implemented correctly, the likelihood of workers reporting quickly will increase.

Return-to-Work Programs

The most effective way to reduce workers' compensation costs is to prevent claims altogether. However, when that's not possible, helping the injured employee return to work is the best secondary strategy. Implementing a return-to-work program allows employees recovering from workplace injuries to return in a limited capacity before they rejoin their role in full swing. Modified roles can include clerical, safety, and maintenance tasks. For example, a manufacturing worker recovering from a foot injury may return to work inspecting equipment until fully healed. By helping workers transition back to work, organizations can lower workers' comp expenses, reduce claim durations, retain employee engagement, and maintain productivity.

Conclusion

Want to reduce claims and improve your safety program? Don’t delay taking action because you don’t know how to begin. Our team of industry-leading risk control professionals is standing by to help. Each day, our group helps employers like you investigate problems, develop action plans, and implement controls.

At AssuredPartners, we help our clients prioritize employee safety and protect the environment in their communities. Our organization’s partnership is based on promoting strategies that lead to long-term success, and we strive to provide specific, actionable advice to our clients. For more information on this topic or any other workplace safety and health concern, contact your designated AssuredPartners representative to access our nationwide network of risk control professionals.