Indiana Workers’ Compensation Law
How to screen for profitable cases
A. Workers’ Comp Cases are Different than Personal Injury Cases
1. The Value of Personal Injury Cases is Largely Determined by the Extent of Medical Treatment and the Amount of Medical Bills—This is Not Always True with Work Comp Cases
- The amount of medical bills does not usually factor in to whether a work comp case will be profitable.
- Work comp cases are profitable if the injured worker is unable to return to any type of work
- I.e., shoulder and knee injuries with surgery would be good PI cases but are not that profitable as work comp cases because the injured worker can normally make a good recovery with only a small impairment
2. Examples of Good Work Comp Cases (Profitable)
- Work injury resulting in death if there is a surviving spouse or other dependent family member
- Work injury resulting in significant permanent partial impairment (PPI), defined as 10% of the whole person or more
- Back or neck injuries requiring surgery, or at least with an MRI showing a disk herniation
- Work injury resulting in the inability of the claimant to return to any reasonable employment (not just the inability to return to their old job)
- Work injuries requiring extensive future medical care
- Amputations
- Claims that have been, or were at least initially, accepted by the insurance company
3. Examples of Bad Work Comp Cases (Not profitable)
- Carpel tunnel injuries or other repetitive stress injuries
- Strains and sprains, regardless of how much PT is received
- Repetitive motion hernia injuries
- Concussion with no permanent brain injury
- TMJ
- Partial vision or hearing loss
- Minor burns—not much impairment
- Injuries involving solely psychological or mental conditions
- Work comp claims that have not been accepted by the insurance company if the damages are not catastrophic
- Claims with less than catastrophic injuries that have already been filed with the Work Comp Board
B. Tips on Screening Work Comp Cases
1. Go right to the injury and make sure it is not a minor injury that would not justify attorney involvement
2. After ruling out a third party case, don’t waste a lot of time on “liability” facts; i.e., the injured worker will want to give all sorts of details as to how the employer was negligent, but this information is not that important. Work Comp is a no fault system.
- 3. The fact that the employer fired the employee is not that significant. Note this fact on the intake, but do not waste a lot of time getting details on why the employee was fired.
- 4. Make sure to find out if the claim was, at least initially, accepted by the insurance company.
- 5. Make sure to find out if the claim is pending before the Work Comp Board (i.e., the employee or a prior attorney filed an Application)
- 6. Make sure to find out whether the employee was assigned a PPI rating, what it was, and which doctor assigned it.
If you have questions regarding screening workers’ compensation claims, please call or e-mail us.
Stephen M. Wagner, Trevor J. Crossen and Judy W. Pippin
WAGNER REESE & CROSSEN, LLP
11939 North Meridian Street
Carmel, Indiana 46032
Ph. 317-569-0000
Fax. 317-569-8088
e-mail: SWagner@InjuryAttorneys.com
e-mail: TCrossen@InjuryAttorneys.com
e-mail: JPippin@InjuryAttorneys.com
Paralegal Contact: Amy Mayfield
e-mail: AMayfield@InjuryAttorneys.com
