Florida Workers’ Comp Adjuster Releases New Book Aimed at Getting Injured Employees Back to Work

April 30, 2008 - PRLog -- Margaret Spence utilized her experience as a workers’ compensation adjuster and consultant to cut through the complexity of the Florida Workers’ Compensation Statutes, to provide employers with a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to implement a proactive return to work program. From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee challenges employers to understand the hidden cost of injuries and to develop policies and procedures that will allow injured employees to stay at or return to work in productive light or modified duty positions.

Margaret said during her years as an adjuster, she made countless phone calls to employers asking them if light duty jobs were available - eight out of ten times the employer said, “No, We have nothing available. The employee can not come back to work until he or she is full duty”. She said, “Knowing that I had to issue an indemnity payment to an employee, who was able to return to work, was very frustrating.” As a consultant, Margaret realized that there was no road map or guide that provided employers with the resources or knowledge to systematically get injured employees back to work.

Historically, the workers’ compensation system has not supported the return to work process – it is much easier to offer injured employees a settlement than it is to provide them with the opportunity to return to gainful employment. Alex Sink Florida’s CFO, acknowledged that return to work is a major problem for Florida employers, she recently announced that the Division of Workers Compensation will be participating in the Florida Stay-at-Work Consortium, a National Summit and initiative seeking better ways to help injured employees stay at work or return to work sooner ultimately, staying employed. The Summit will be held in Orlando on June 1 – 2; Margaret will participate and share the information from her book during the Summit.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics annually, 1.2 million injured employees lose, an average of, seven work days directly related to their occupational injury or illness. Most employers have the false assumption that premiums are the most significant cost drivers in the workers’ compensation system. In fact, lost productivity, lost work days and staff replacement cost can be up to 240 percent above direct insurance cost.

When Margaret made the decision, two years ago to write this book she immediately recognized that she would have to change the way employers view light duty before she could motivate them to implement proactive return to work procedures. This book had to accomplish three things, change the perception of light duty, quantify the cost of leaving injured employees at home and provide employers with clear steps that will result in a positive return to work experience.

From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee, (ISBN: 978-0-9789407-6-8, DCRC Training Group Press), definitely accomplished this goal. The book is packed with step-by-step instructions, handy checklist, to do lists and hundreds of valuable tips and techniques employers can implement immediately. Margaret also developed and launched an online resource guide that accompanies the book.

The book is currently available on Amazon.com for advance pre-publication sales - (click here to view book on Amazon's site -  http://tinyurl.com/5lpo6v ) and it can be purchased on our website, http://www.workcompseminars.com/bookstore/  

If you would like to interview Margaret Spence, or if you would like to receive a pre-publication copy of the book, please contact - Patricia Campbell, Director of Marketing at: 561-795-3036 or email your request to: pcampbell@workcompseminars.com


About Margaret Spence, CWC, RMPE

Margaret Spence is the President and CEO of Douglas Claims & Risk Consultants, Inc. and WorkCompSeminars.com. She is a Board Certified Workers' Compensation consultant, speaker and trainer who ranks among the experts in the field of injury management and return to work implementation. She is an expert at showing companies how to slash their workers’ compensation cost by implementing strategies that drastically reduce injury rates, increase productivity and energize employees to work safety. For more than two decades, she has managed workplace safety and workers' compensation claims for Fortune 500 Corporations, Public Entities and small businesses. Margaret was recently appointed to the Society for Human Resource Management – Special Expertise Panel on Employee Health, Safety and Security for a three year term.

About the Book

From Workers’ Comp Claimant to Valued Employee is published by DCRC Training Group Press a Division of Douglas Claims & Risk Consultants, Inc.  ISBN: 978-0-9789407-6-8, 170 pages, Perfect Bound – Retail Price $49.95

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About DCRC Training Group Press

DCRC publishes book focusing on Risk Management, Workers’ Compensation and Injury Prevention. DCRC is based in Boca Raton, Florida and is a division of Douglas Claims & Risk Consultants, Inc.

Website: www.workcompseminars.com