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Delaware Requires Employers Start Great Risk Mgmt Technique

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Delaware Requires Employers  Job Lists To Treating Physician

The State of Delaware requires employers to initiate a great risk management technique.  Return to work is one of the Five Keys To Saving On Workers Comp $. I have been writing, presenting, and blogging on these Five Keys for over 25 years.   In study after study, files that have an element of return to work strategies overpay 400%  on their claims.

State of Delaware Requires Employers park
Wikimedia Commons – Sixflashphoto

The State of Delaware made a bold and very intelligent move to require employers to provide workers compensation treating physicians with a list of jobs available (along with restrictions/abilities).

Employers should have been doing this already as part of their Workers Compensation risk management program.  It is very striking to me that even large sophisticated employers are not providing treating physicians with what I call a job bank to ease the transition from being temporarily totally disabled to at least a part-time light duty job.

One area that most states look at very closely and critically is make-work.  States, especially in the Southeastern US, do not approve of a job that is made up out of thin air.  These make-work created jobs are not looked well upon by Workers Comp judges.

Pre-established job banks will usually pass the make-work hurdle for return-to-work jobs.  One of the main cost reductions is the rehabilitation nurse/field case manager fees.

I have seen the rehab nurse:

  • Interview the employer’s HR rep

    Woman Delaware Requires Employers Using Computer
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  • Write the job description
  • Have the HR department sign off on the job
  • Take the job description to the next doctor’s appointment
  • Have the treating physician sign off on the job
  • Provide all parties with copies of the job description and sign-offs.
  • Follow up with employer and employee once injured employee has returned to work.

At almost $100 an hour, the rehabilitation nurse will spend 20 or more hours going through this process.  Rehab nurse are priceless to Workers Comp, but not in shuffling paperwork between the parties in a WC claim. The employer should have all light-duty jobs on file in the treating physician’s office – plain and simple.  If not, get out the checkbook.

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James J Moore - Workers Comp Expert

Raleigh, NC, United States

About The Author...

James founded a Workers’ Compensation consulting firm, J&L Risk Management Consultants, Inc. in 1996. J&L’s mission is to reduce our clients’ Workers Compensation premiums by using time-tested techniques. J&L’s claims, premium, reserve and Experience Mod reviews have saved employers over $9.8 million in earned premiums over the last three years. J&L has saved numerous companies from bankruptcy proceedings as a result of insurance overpayments.

James has over 27 years of experience in insurance claims, audit, and underwriting, specializing in Workers’ Compensation. He has supervised, and managed the administration of Workers’ Compensation claims, and underwriting in over 45 states. His professional experience includes being the Director of Risk Management for the North Carolina School Boards Association. He created a very successful Workers’ Compensation Injury Rehabilitation Unit for school personnel.

James’s educational background, which centered on computer technology, culminated in earning a Masters of Business Administration (MBA); an Associate in Claims designation (AIC); and an Associate in Risk Management designation (ARM). He is a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and a licensed financial advisor. The NC Department of Insurance has certified him as an insurance instructor. He also possesses a Bachelors’ Degree in Actuarial Science.

LexisNexis has twice recognized his blog as one of the Top 25 Blogs on Workers’ Compensation. J&L has been listed in AM Best’s Preferred Providers Directory for Insurance Experts – Workers Compensation for over eight years. He recently won the prestigious Baucom Shine Lifetime Achievement Award for his volunteer contributions to the area of risk management and safety. James was recently named as an instructor for the prestigious Insurance Academy.

James is on the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the North Carolina Mid-State Safety Council. He has published two manuals on Workers’ Compensation and three different claims processing manuals. He has also written and has been quoted in numerous articles on reducing Workers’ Compensation costs for public and private employers. James publishes a weekly newsletter with 7,000 readers.

He currently possess press credentials and am invited to various national Workers Compensation conferences as a reporter.

James’s articles or interviews on Workers’ Compensation have appeared in the following publications or websites:

  • Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
  • Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Bloomberg Business News
  • WorkCompCentral.com
  • Claims Magazine
  • Risk & Insurance Magazine
  • Insurance Journal
  • Workers Compensation.com
  • LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites
  • Various trade publications

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