The Hidden Costs of Construction-Related Workers’ Comp Claims

Read­ing Time: 3 min­utes

Last Updat­ed on May 24, 2023 

Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims can be cost­ly, not just in terms of med­ical expens­es and lost wages, but also in hid­den costs that are not imme­di­ate­ly appar­ent. Call me to dis­cuss your par­tic­u­lars at 844–682‑0999.

As a work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion lawyer, I have seen first­hand how these hid­den costs can add up and cre­ate finan­cial bur­dens for both employ­ers and employ­ees. In this arti­cle, I will dis­cuss the true cost of con­struc­tion-relat­ed work­ers’ comp claims and pro­vide tips on how to mit­i­gate these costs.

Workers Comp and Construction Injury Claims

Understanding the True Cost of Construction Workers’ Comp Claims

Work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims in con­struc­tion are often expen­sive due to the nature of the work. Con­struc­tion work­ers are often exposed to haz­ardous mate­ri­als, work in high-risk envi­ron­ments, and per­form phys­i­cal­ly demand­ing tasks. As a result, injuries can be severe, and med­ical treat­ment can be extensive.

How­ev­er, the true cost of work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims goes beyond med­ical bills and lost wages. Employ­ers must also con­tend with the fol­low­ing hid­den costs:

Increased Insurance Premiums

Work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion insur­ance pre­mi­ums are based on a company’s claims his­to­ry. Fre­quent claims and high claim amounts can result in increased pre­mi­ums. This means that even one severe claim can cost a com­pa­ny sig­nif­i­cant­ly in the long run.

Lost Productivity

When a work­er is injured, pro­duc­tiv­i­ty can come to a halt. If the injury is severe, the work­er may be unable to return to work for an extend­ed peri­od. This not only affects the injured work­er but also their fel­low employ­ees who must pick up the slack.

Administrative Costs

Work­ers’ comp claims require paper­work and admin­is­tra­tive tasks that can be time-con­sum­ing and expen­sive. Employ­ers must gath­er med­ical records, fill out forms, and com­mu­ni­cate with insur­ance car­ri­ers. This can take up valu­able time and resources that could be bet­ter spent on oth­er tasks.

Training Costs

If a work­er is injured on the job, it may be nec­es­sary to hire a replace­ment. This can be cost­ly, espe­cial­ly if the new work­er requires train­ing. Employ­ers may also need to invest in addi­tion­al safe­ty train­ing for employ­ees to pre­vent future accidents.

How to Mitigate the Hidden Costs of Workers’ Comp Claims in Construction

While it is impos­si­ble to com­plete­ly elim­i­nate work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims in con­struc­tion, there are steps employ­ers can take to mit­i­gate the hid­den costs.

Implement Safety Protocols

One of the most effec­tive ways to reduce work­ers’ comp claims is to imple­ment safe­ty pro­to­cols. This includes pro­vid­ing prop­er safe­ty equip­ment, train­ing employ­ees on safe work prac­tices, and con­duct­ing reg­u­lar safe­ty inspec­tions. Employ­ers should also encour­age employ­ees to report any poten­tial haz­ards or unsafe conditions.

Offer Return-to-Work Programs

When a work­er is injured, it is impor­tant to get them back to work as soon as pos­si­ble. This not only helps the injured work­er finan­cial­ly but also reduces lost pro­duc­tiv­i­ty for the com­pa­ny. Employ­ers can offer mod­i­fied work duties or reduced hours to accom­mo­date the injured worker’s recovery.

Establish a Claims Management System

Hav­ing a stream­lined claims man­age­ment sys­tem can reduce admin­is­tra­tive costs and improve com­mu­ni­ca­tion with insur­ance car­ri­ers. Employ­ers can use tech­nol­o­gy to auto­mate paper­work and track claims, reduc­ing the time and resources required to man­age claims.

Invest in Employee Health and Wellness

Employ­ers can invest in employ­ee health and well­ness pro­grams to pre­vent injuries and ill­ness­es. This includes offer­ing health screen­ings, exer­cise class­es, and nutri­tion coun­sel­ing. Healthy employ­ees are less like­ly to be injured on the job, reduc­ing the risk of work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims.

Work with a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Final­ly, employ­ers can work with a work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion lawyer to nav­i­gate the com­plex world of work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims. A lawyer can pro­vide guid­ance on the claims process, help with paper­work, and rep­re­sent the employ­er in legal proceedings.

Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims can be cost­ly, but by under­stand­ing the true cost and tak­ing steps to mit­i­gate hid­den costs, employ­ers can reduce the finan­cial bur­den. If you are an employ­er deal­ing with a work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claim, con­tact us at [phone num­ber] for a free con­sul­ta­tion with one of our expe­ri­enced work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion lawyers.

Top 4 Related Topics

1. Work­ers’ Com­pen­sa­tion Insurance
2. Occu­pa­tion­al Safe­ty and Health Admin­is­tra­tion (OSHA)
3. Return-to-Work Pro­grams
4. Employ­ee Health and Well­ness Programs

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2. “Hid­den costs of work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims”
3. “Reduc­ing work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims in construction”
4. “Stream­lin­ing work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims management”
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