Any attorney will tell you that it's better to prevent lawsuits than it is to try to defend yourself from one. The same logic applies when it comes to workers' comp. To save your company money, here are the steps you should take.

Know How Workers' Comp Premiums Work

Workers' comp premiums are fixed by law, but there's an adjustment for how many claims you have. It works just like regular insurance. If you have an average number of claims for your industry, you can expect to pay the average rate. If you have more claims, your premium goes up, and if you have fewer claims, your premium goes down. This makes it obvious that you want to have fewer claims.

Report All Claims

Even though you want to have fewer claims, you need to report all of them. First, not reporting workplace injuries and discouraging workers from filing for workers' comp is illegal. If you do this, you'll need a criminal defense attorney in addition to your workers' compensation lawyer. Second, not all claims are equal. Just like car insurance, a minor accident will have a lower premium increase than a major accident, since the insurance company adjusts the premium based on how much you have to pay. You don't want a worker to hide a minor injury and then require much more expensive treatment later on.

Defend Against Fraudulent Claims

Some workers may try to file a fraudulent claim because they'd rather claim disability benefits than work. Even though you don't pay the claims yourself, it will still affect your claims history and insurance rates. If you believe that a worker is falsifying a claim or trying to make a claim for an injury that didn't happen at work, you have the right to defend against the claim. It's important to work with your workers' comp attorney to do it properly so you can avoid accusations of trying to retaliate against legitimate claims.

Promote Safety

The number one way to reduce workers' comp claims is to keep your workers from getting hurt in the first place. Make sure you give them the right equipment and that they're properly trained. Everyone should know that safety always comes before speed or anything else. You may wish to create incentives for going some amount of time without accidents, but always work with your lawyer to make sure you're complying with the relevant laws.

To learn more about how to legally reduce your workers' comp claims, talk to a local workers comp attorney today.

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