Slips, trips and falls are among the most common causes of workplace injuries. Knowing the requirements for stairs and ladders, guarding of floor and wall openings and the basics of fall protection is essential for any risk manager. In this session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, Vergie Bain, Compliance Assistance Specialist for the U.S. Department of Labor provided insight about the OSHA standards for this issue. Slips, trips and falls are serious business. They cause 15% of all accidental deaths and are third only to violence and motor vehicles as a cause of workplace fatalities. OSHA standards for
(Read the full article…)

This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference highlighted program strategies from the three winners of National Underwriter’s 2019 Excellence in Workers’ Compensation Risk Management Award. Fred Matthews, Senior Manager of Safety, DHL Express DHL Express believes that they have a balanced workers’ compensation program. They have worked to strengthen post-offer physical assessments, they have created an industrial athlete program that helps with heavy lifting and fit-for-duty, and have refined their transitional duty program. They use an ERS mobility system to measure and have recently added the ability to build risk profiles within that system. Over the last few
(Read the full article…)

Collecting data and understanding outcomes is critical to a successful and effective risk management program. This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference showed risk managers how to weed through the endless data points to obtain effective, manageable and useful analysis. Speakers included: Tara Acton, CPCU, ACI, AID, Director of Claims & Counsel, CenturyLink Susan Emerson, General Manager for Workers’ Compensation Disability and Leave Programs, Delta Airlines, Inc. Michele Adams, Vice President of Risk Management Services, Walt Disney World Resorts (Moderator) How do you manage priorities and expectations around data? CenturyLink’s data goes to operations to help them understand
(Read the full article…)

Collecting data and understanding outcomes is critical to a successful and effective risk management program. This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference showed risk managers how to weed through the endless data points to obtain effective, manageable and useful analysis. Speakers included: Tara Acton, CPCU, ACI, AID, Director of Claims & Counsel, CenturyLink Susan Emerson, General Manager for Workers’ Compensation Disability and Leave Programs, Delta Airlines, Inc. Michele Adams, Vice President of Risk Management Services, Walt Disney World Resorts (Moderator) How do you manage priorities and expectations around data? CenturyLink’s data goes to operations to help them understand
(Read the full article…)

A strategic approach is essential for employers who want to ensure the health and safety of their workforce. This includes both traditional and non-traditional models of healthcare delivery. This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference explored best practices for addressing workers’ compensation injuries. Moderator: Arlene Guzik – Director of Occupational Medicine at BayCare Health System Panelists included: Nathan Waldrep, MD – Director of Physician Services at Baycare Health System Warren Sponsler – Attorney and Founding Partner at Sponsler, Bishop, Karen & Hammer, PA Workplace health and safety standards have come a long way since the industrial revolution. Both
(Read the full article…)

This session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference gathered a panel of leadership from several companies sharing steps to create an effective culture. Panelists included: Rich Blaser, CEO, Infinite Energy David Bangert, CEO, CHI Overhead Doors Jon McGavin, Area General Manager, JW Marriott & Ritz Carlton Greg McKenna, SVP Communications, Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc. (Moderator) Risk management exposures are growing exponentially and resources are limited. So what can an organization do to address this conundrum? Build an effective safety culture. This can be accomplished in four steps. 1. Establish a Game Plan There are several things you can do
(Read the full article…)

Telehealth might be the wave of the future, but it is important not to lose the personal human factor of care for injured workers. In this session at WCI’s 2019 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, panelists discussed how to utilize a variety of clinical solutions to optimize diagnosis and treatment for patients. Moderator: Patricia Hettinger – Senior Regional Claims Manager at Hilton Panel: Susan Shemanski – Vice President, Risk Management Services at Adecco Staffing Ann Schnure – Vice President, Telemedicine Operations at Concentra Andrea J. Buhl – Senior Vice President, Clinically Integrated Medical Program at Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc Jean
(Read the full article…)

At the 2019 SAWCA Annual Convention, a panel discussed how state regulators monitor employer compliance with regard to purchasing workers’ compensation coverage. The panel was: Scott Beck – South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission Tanner Holloman – Florida Workers’ Compensation Commission Amanda Terry – Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Commission Stan Bexley – Georgia Workers’ Compensation Committee Bob Swisher – Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Commission Wayne Ducote – South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission States uncover potential workers’ compensation premium fraud from multiple sources. These include: Some have their compliance system tied to state tax information so that if wages are paid by an employer
(Read the full article…)

At the 2019 SAWCA Annual Convention, Tom Hebson from York Risk Services gave a presentation on market cycles in workers’ compensation. Workers compensation has long been characterized by “hard” and “soft” market cycles. In a hard market cycle competition is limited and rates rise. In a soft market cycle you see more completion which drives rates downward. These market cycles are not necessarily linked directly to changes in claims costs but dramatic changes in costs can trigger dramatic changes in the marketplace. Characteristics of a soft market: Premiums declining. Carrier risk appetites expanding. Less restrictive underwriting. Increased capital for carriers
(Read the full article…)

At the 2019 SAWCA Annual Convention a panel discussed challenges around Medicare Secondary Payer compliance. The panel was: Diana Leahy – ISO (moderator) Rafael Gonzalez – President Settlement Solutions, United Health Group/Optum C. Wade McGuffey, Jr – Partner, Goodman McGuffey LLP Elizabeth Costner – Attorney The landscape for Medical Secondary Payer compliance has been constantly changing. Part of this change has been very positive. Approval times for Medicare Set Aside (MSA) agreements have decreased dramatically. What used to take several months to a year now takes just a few weeks. Another area of change that has been seen is the
(Read the full article…)