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Avoiding Workers’ Comp

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Are you a business wondering how to avoid workers’ comp? If you don’t use it, you feel like you are wasting money. If you have to use it, it not only means you are out a worker, but it also means a worker has been injured in a work-related incident.


How to Avoid Workers’ Comp

Are you a business wondering how to avoid workers’ comp? After all, workers comp is inconvenient in more ways than one. If you don’t use it, you feel like you are wasting money. If you have to use it, it not only means you are out a worker, but it also means a worker has been injured in a work-related incident. 

It makes sense that you would want to avoid workers comp. Unfortunately, if you have employees, that is against the law in most states. Although learning how to avoid workers’ comp altogether is a bad idea, learning about working and how to avoid needing to use workers’ comp insurance is a good idea. 

 

How Does Workers’ Comp work?

You might not be able to learn how to avoid workers’ comp, but you should learn what it is. So, how does workers’ comp work? Workers’ comp is designed to help workers survive after a work-related injury or sickness. Workers’ comp insurance helps injured workers cover medical bills and lost wages. 

Another reason why you do not want to learn how to avoid workers’ comp is the fact that workers’ comp insurance protects both you as the employer and your employees. As the employer, you are responsible for most workplace injuries even if you do not have workers’ comp insurance. The only difference is the company will need to pay out of pocket to cover the employee's medical bills and lost wages. These payments could far exceed the payments you make on the worker’s comp insurance. 

 

Workers’ Comp Insurance

Most states require businesses with employees to carry workers’ comp insurance. If you really want to learn how to avoid workers’ comp, you should know that there are less expensive workers’ comp insurance policies. If you are a one-person run business, workers’ comp is not usually necessary, but if you find yourself needing to show proof of workers’ comp insurance, you could get a Ghost policy. Ghost policies will cover everyone but the owner. This way, while you work independently, you only need to pay the inexpensive ghost policy payment, but if you later choose to hire an employee, they will be covered. 

 

Insurance Fraud

The fear of insurance fraud might be a reason why you want to learn how to avoid workers’ comp. Unfortunately, workers’ comp insurance fraud happens. Every so often an employee might try to falsely claim a work-related injury to collect the benefits. Below are some ways you can discourage your employees from committing fraud. 

Establish a Culture of Trust and Safety

If you treat your employees well, they will enjoy their job more. If they like their job, they will be less likely to risk losing it by making a false insurance claim. You also want your employees to feel safe. If you create sound safety procedures and discourage unsafe practices, even if it means completing tasks faster, it will be harder for an employee looking to commit fraud to make it seem believable.

Evaluate Your Hiring Practices

Hire the right people from the beginning. Conduct background checks and interviews. If you see a red flag, do not hire them. You want to hire honest people who would not even consider committing insurance fraud. You should also clearly state the physical requirements of the job. For example, if someone is working on a marine dock, they should know the expected dangers ahead of time. Do not underplay them. 

Investigate

Workplace injuries should always be investigated, Document where and when the accident happened. Talk to witnesses and the injured employee. Gather as much info as you can. You want as complete a picture of the incident as you can get. Not only should you do this to sniff out fraud but also to identify places where safety needs to be improved. 

Video Surveillance

The more proof of an incident you have the better. Video surveillance can show you exactly what happened. If you see an employee slip and fall, it is much easier to tell if it was real or not.

 

Workplace Safety 

The best way to learn how to avoid workers’ comp cases is to put the work to create a safe work environment. Workplace safety should be at the forefront of every employer's mind. Every seven seconds, a worker is injured in America. Do your part to decrease workplace injury by increasing workplace safety.

 

Evaluate Risks

Consider putting a team together to evaluate and investigate potential workplace safety concerns. If you can identify and fix workplace safety concerns before they become an issue, you will not need to deal with workers’ comp claims. Consult OSHA’s requirements. You need to follow the requirements they have laid out for your industry. If something is not in line with their requirements, you need to fix it. 

Create a Safety Plan

It is not enough to say how things should be done, it needs to be in writing. Your safety plan should include procedures, policies for reporting incidents, and other safety information. Employees should not have to guess. They should know how to proceed if a safety concern arises.

Train Employees

Go over your safety plan with employees. Allow them to ask questions. All employees should have job-specific training before their first day as well as regular refresher training. Consider using a variety of training techniques. Not every employee will respond the same to the same type of training. Some like gamification, others like lesson format. Employing a variety of teaching techniques will allow the information to stay at the forefront of your employees’ minds. 

 

Singer Safety

Here at Singer Safety, safety is our passion. We can help you learn how to avoid workers’ comp claims by improving the overall safety of your facilities. If you want to improve your business’s safety, consider using Singer Safety products. From noise control systems meant to protect your hearing to welding safety screens, our products will keep both your workers and those around your workers safe. Contact Singer Safety with any questions and we will be happy to help.

 


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