Workers' Comp
Workers' Comp Intake Questions: How to Screen Injured Workers
The five questions that decide whether a workers' compensation caller is a case: hurt on the job, employee status, injury reported, treatment, and the filing deadline. What each checks and how to set it.
Key takeaways
- Screen workers' comp callers before they reach your intake team, not after.
- The five default checks: hurt on the job, an employee rather than a contractor, injury reported inside your window, already treated, and inside your state's filing deadline.
- Add your own questions, such as states, injury types or whether the caller already has a lawyer.
- Every transfer is posted with the caller's intake answers, so you can see how each one was screened.
Screening a workers' compensation caller means asking a short set of qualifying questions before the caller reaches your intake team, and only transferring the ones who fit. Five questions do most of the work: was the caller hurt on the job, are they an employee, did they report the injury, have they been treated, and is the claim inside your state's filing deadline. Here is what each one checks, why it matters, and how to set it for your firm.
1. Was the caller hurt on the job?
The check: the caller was hurt on the job.
Why it matters: workers' compensation covers injuries that happen at work or while doing the job. A caller hurt off the clock may have a different claim, but it is not a workers' comp case.
2. Is the caller an employee?
The check: the caller is an employee, not an independent contractor.
Why it matters: workers' comp generally covers employees. A caller paid as a contractor may not be covered, which can turn a strong-sounding injury into a case your firm cannot take.
3. Did the caller report the injury?
The check: the injury was reported to the employer inside the window you pick.
Why it matters: states set deadlines for telling the employer about an injury. A caller who never reported it, or reported it too late, may have a harder claim. Set the window your firm is comfortable with.
4. Has the caller been treated?
The check: the caller has already seen a doctor or received treatment.
Why it matters: treatment documents the injury and links it to the job. It is usually the first thing a claim relies on.
5. Is the claim inside the filing deadline?
The check: the claim is inside the filing deadline for your state.
Why it matters: every state sets its own deadline for filing a workers' comp claim. A caller past it is not a case. Your intake script should reflect the deadlines in the states you take cases in.
What else should you add to the script?
The five questions are the default. Firms often add:
- The states they take cases in.
- The injury types they handle.
- Whether the caller already has a lawyer.
Everything you add goes into the same intake script, and every caller answers it.
Where should the screening happen?
Before the transfer, not after. When an outside intake team screens callers against your script first, your team only talks to injured workers who fit, and you only pay for callers who passed your questions and were connected live to your intake line. Every transfer is posted to you with the caller's intake answers, so you can see how each one was screened.
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