I love the workers’ compensation space. I feel like I was born into it. I grew up watching my father beat his body up as he worked manual labor (and continues to do so well into his 70s). I had an emergency door handle pierce the skin of my upper thigh while I was working at one of my very first jobs which required a plethora of sutures. I began…
As an eternal optimist, I understand the times when people tell you to stay positive, look on the bright side, or it could have been worse. I get it. I continuously practice it. And even post injury, post work-injury, I am grateful it was only ‘so bad’. There are times you may think being positive is the only way to get through difficult or challenging circumstances. To always see the…
Empathy, noun, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. The workers’ compensation system was designed to restore the lives of humans who were injured during an unforeseen circumstance while at work. Helping people during these vulnerable moments, once injury has been sustained, should provide an opportunity to create a trusting relationship between an adjuster and the injured worker. The adjusting role should be looked at as the…
Empathy is a concept so needed in the workers’ compensation space and yet we have not invested the time, talent, and resources to further examine and develop this concept. Empathy: a core fundamental to build connection and trust. In this space, we are so quickly to judge the injured human being on the other end of the line or the person who filed the workers’ compensation claim and yet what…
In 2018, I sustained an injury to my left hip. The injury resulted in five surgical procedures that summer, with a plethora of rehab on my road to recovery. While the physical process was painful and challenging, the mental components were even worse. This was a workers’ compensation claim. Six weeks post-operation, I was in physical therapy. My physical therapist was very straight forward with me and said “The physical…
We have always done it this way. This is the epitome of workers’ compensation and the claims handling process. It is the death of creativity, innovation, and organizational development. It crushes souls, smothers hope, and needs to be a phrase of the past. In a rapidly changing world, the workers’ compensation industry has escaped the movement necessary to be exciting. I know this space can be better, the experience, the…
The workers’ compensation claims handling has been a repetitive nature of process and move on, follow the checklist for an audit, and close the claim. Process, and repeat. Go down the checklist and follow the pattern. Check, check, check. ***Abrasive vinal scratch to a halt.*** It is far beyond time to change the narrative and have the courage to be different. The workers’ compensation system is about PEOPLE. Restoring people…
From a very early age in life, we want to be acknowledged. We want to be seen and we want to be heard. As we grow older, we want to be appreciated, to be valued, to feel worthy. These are basic human elements to life and the human connection. The workers’ compensation space is no different. I have the amazing opportunity to be a Professor at Drake University. This past…
We all like the idea of our injured workers bragging about their experience with a TPA or an insurance carrier, especially when it creates a desired outcome for all parties. It makes an organization more reputable and (competitive advantage) provides a unique attribute one can market in this space. But does it really matter? Spoiler alert. It does. Injured workers want to be involved in their healing process. There is…
What we do matters. If you are reading this. YOU MATTER. Being in the workers’ compensation system is one of the most amazing gifts one can have because of the opportunity to impact human lives, families, communities, an industry, and make a difference. Each day, we have the ability to impact lives and change the trajectory of someone’s life. This is not limited to injured workers, we can also do…
