A small business employee sustained a back injury while lifting and had 18 months of chiropractic care, 5 days a week. His doctor claimed a 70% permanent disability.

We filed a written objection to the claim with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and the insurance company independent of the insurer's defense of the claim. The claim settled for 10 cents on the dollar. Are you keeping in contact with injured workers and meeting with the insurance company claims adjustor? By appearing for the employer at the Settlement Conference at the WCAB, we were able to influence the lower settlement of the claim.

The one and only significant injury claim for a small business in 5 years increased their experience modification to over 140% and increased their workers compensation premium over the last three years by $180,000-for an employee whose annual salary was less than $25,000.

Our team instituted a return-to-work policy, which would have cut the costs of this claim by 2/3, had the client known what to do. We also have trained their supervisors on how to handle injured workers, and are working to improve their records so they will be able to obtain competitive insurance bids for their next renewal.

A married female employee had an affair with a co-worker. She broke it off. He sued. The husband demanded she file a sexual harassment claim against the employer. The judgment against the company was $1 Million.

• Does your company have a written policy on sexual harassment?
• Are supervisors and employees trained, and do they know the policy?
• Do you investigate complaints?
• Do you protect complaining employees from retailiation?

A worker fell while going down the stairs at his company's offices. The stair railing broke. The cost of the workers' compensation claim exceeded $136,000.

We insisted that the workers' compensation insurer file a legal action against the landlord to recover the costs of the claim. They had not done so. Any money recovered will be reported and reduce the client's experience modification.