Claims Manager saves employer significant expense
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Claims Manager saves employer significant expense
Retail Services’ claims adjusters work to make sure that members are not improperly charged for claims filed for on-the-job injuries.
In one such case, Nancy Barnes, Manager of Claims Administration, convinced Labor & Industries not to charge a member for claim costs filed by a relatively new worker with a long history of back injury problems.
The injured worker’s back tightened and locked up when he bent over on the job. Initially, the worker’s attorney convinced L&I to reject Washington Retail’s claim that the relatively new worker’s long-standing back injuries contributed to the injury claim.
As Barnes continued negotiating the case through evidence, L&I agreed to change the status of the case from “injury” to “occupational disease,” which allowed L&I to include and weigh all of the worker’s contributory work history going back several years.
After reviewing the person’s full work history, L&I removed the employer from any liability for the condition of the worker’s back in his latest job the worker held for only three months. Barnes knew that L&I does not charge liability fees for employers whose percentage of liability is lower than 10%.
Retail Services’ team of claims adjusters is knowledgeable about legal requirements and rules for determining financial responsibilities related to workplace injury claims. Because of that, Barnes was able to protect the employer and RS’s Retro program from potentially significant charges unsupported by laws and state regulations. Such determinations are fair and protect employers from significant workers’ compensation insurance rate increases based upon unwarranted workplace injury claims.