Injury Prevention and Investigation
Apollo Sheet Metal and Apollo Inc, were recently awarded an EMR of .29. With this rating, we have officially become the safest company in Washington State, beating out even non-construction companies. As the Safety Officer at Apollo, I am frequently asked how we do it. How do we integrate safety into the culture of our company? How do we get buy in from employees? How do we control cost? How do we deal with fraudulent injury claims? The simplest answer to these questions is this: It takes a team.
An obvious key to lowering your company’s EMR is injury prevention. 95% of employees who become injured on the job are hard working, honest employees. This sub-group does not pose much of a problem for a given company. The problem lies with the other 5%. What do you do when you suspect that an injured employee might not actually be injured? At Apollo, we use a team of resources: health care providers, claim managers, investigators, nurse case managers, and yes – lawyers. The most important aspect to controlling cost on a suspicious claim is to activate an investigative team early in the process. As soon as a supervisor becomes suspicious of an injury, it is crucial that your team of professionals be brought on board immediately. Spending money on these resources up front will undoubtedly save your company thousands of dollars at the end. To combat fraudulent claims, you must assemble a reliable investigative team; the state will not do it for you.
At Apollo, our investigative team consists of the following:
Claims Manager and Retro group:
Approach Management Service http://www.approachms.com/
Health Care Providers:
Anova Works: http://www.anovaworks.com/
Worker Care: http://www.yakimaworkercare.com/
Health Works: http://www.ushealthworks.com/Home.html
Law Firms:
http://www.k-solutionslaw.com/ (Workmen comp.)
http://www.amslaw.net/home.html (Workmen comp., citations, employment practices)
http://www.compriskmgt.com/team/claimsProfessionals.html (Workmen comp.)
Investigators:
http://www.specialtysurveillance.com/ (film, photos, back ground checks)
Nurse Case Manager:
http://www.nurseworksnw.com/ (help with doc on light duty options)
