The Role of EHS in Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Incident Management

Workplace incidents are often a part of business operations, but how companies handle these events significantly impacts employee well-being, organizational reputation, future reoccurrence, and compliance obligations. Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) teams play a pivotal role in ensuring these incidents are managed effectively, working alongside other stakeholders to create a seamless, compliant, and employee-focused process.

General Incident Information to Keep in Mind 

If you manage EHS at your organization, it’s important to understand how incidents are managed whether it be a workers’ compensation scheme or public healthcare. Having this information can help you understand the local process as well as know what steps the employee and your employer need to take.

Remember, countries, states, and provinces may have different reporting timeframes and criteria for late reporting. In addition, some countries have Occupational Doctors or allow you to specify where employees can seek treatment.

In the US and a few other countries, workers’ compensation is an “exclusive remedy.” In general, an employee cannot sue the employer if workers compensation is covered.

Navigating the US Workers’ Compensation System 

The U.S. Workers’ Compensation system is a no-fault insurance scheme designed to cover workplace injuries and illnesses. Workers’ compensation insurance provides medical and lost benefit wages to workers who are injured on the job. Here’s a breakdown of the typical process:

Claims are closed when the employee:

• Returns to their pre-injury condition, or
• Reaches Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), the point where further medical treatment is unlikely to improve the condition.

Complexities of Claim Closure 

In complex cases, the following can take place:

• Once MMI is determined, then the employee is given an Impairment Rating (IR). Each body part has a monetary amount which can be scaled based on the percentage of impairment. This is determined by a doctor using American Medical Association (AMA) guidelines.
• If the insurance company disagrees with a doctor’s IR, then they can request an Independent Medical Exam (IME).
• If the employee disagrees with a doctor’s IR, then they can request a Designated Independent Medical Exam (DIME).
• At this stage often employers will offer a settlement which closes the claim permanently.

EHS: A Strategic Partner in Incident and Claims Management 

The role of EHS extends beyond ensuring safety to facilitating the workers' compensation and incident reporting process.

Best Practices for EHS

1. Streamline Incident Reporting

• Promote reporting through training sessions, especially with HR and other departments.
• Leverage safety committees to encourage participation.
• Use metrics to identify global trends and areas for improvement.

2. Coordinate with Stakeholders

• EHS teams must work closely with HR, occupational health professionals, risk managers, and external providers to manage claims effectively. That means if HR doesn’t understand the incident reporting process, it’s important to have training sessions with them.

3. Engage External Providers

• Maintain consistent communication via calls and emails.
• Request regular updates, ideally monthly or more frequently for complex cases.
• Conduct quarterly review meetings when feasible.

4. Foster a Proactive Safety Culture

• By emphasizing prevention and early reporting, EHS can help reduce the frequency and severity of workplace incidents.

Final Thoughts 

EHS professionals play an essential role in bridging the gap between safety, compliance, and incident management. By championing robust reporting processes and fostering collaboration among stakeholders, EHS teams can drive better outcomes for employees and organizations alike. In doing so, they help create workplaces where safety isn’t just a requirement, it’s a culture.

Do you have questions about how EHS fits into workers’ compensation? Reach out to our team of experts today!