Workers' compensation intake: the first call from a hurt worker

Workers’ compensation intake is a triage job. Callers phone from a job site, a clinic parking lot or a kitchen table, and many are afraid for their pay. A calm first minute decides who they call next. This guide covers what to ask, what to hand to an attorney, and what to count.

What happens on the first call?

The goal is to be warm, short and exact. Introduce the firm, ask if the worker is safe and can talk, then take the facts in a set order. Our intake guide for law firms covers the general process. For comp, the order below works well.

1. Name and best number, and a safe time to call back.
2. Date of injury and where it happened.
3. Date and way it was reported to the employer, and to whom.
4. Treatment so far, and who sent the worker there.
5. Where the claim stands: accepted, delayed, denied or never filed.
6. Language the worker prefers.

Speed matters. One published secret-shopper test found that 40% of firms answered the phone (Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism). A worker who reaches a voicemail keeps dialing.

How do you triage “was this injury on the job”?

Ask short, neutral questions and let the attorney decide. You are collecting facts, not giving an opinion.

• Where were you and what were you doing when it happened?
• Who was your employer, and were you working for them or for a staffing company?
• Did anyone else see it, or write it down?
• Did the pain start at once or build up over time?
• Has anyone told you it was not work related? Who, and when?

Some injuries have a second source of recovery, such as a claim against a third party. Flag those for the attorney. See personal injury.

What about the deadlines?

Each state sets its own time to tell the employer and its own time to file a claim. They differ, they can be short, and exceptions are narrow. Intake should not quote a time limit from memory. Instead:

• Record the injury date and the report date on the form.
• Mark any call with a long gap between injury and report as “same-day review.”
• Tell the caller that an attorney will check the deadlines for their state today.
• Keep a page of your state’s agency forms and deadlines, written and dated by your attorney, for the team to read from.

What do you say to a worker whose claim was denied?

First, that you are glad they called. Then collect the denial date, the sender, and the reason given. Ask if the worker has the letter and any notice of how to appeal. Do not predict the result. Employer and insurer calls count too: a worker may say the insurer’s adjuster asked for a recorded statement. Note that, and pass it to the attorney the same day.

How should Spanish and after-hours calls work?

Comp callers are often Spanish speakers who work early or late shifts. Hispanic workers suffered 1,229 of the 5,070 US workplace deaths in 2024 (BLS).

• Spanish: a person who speaks Spanish, or a trained service, answers, with the same questions in the same order. List Spanish in your ads and profile only when someone can answer. See Spanish legal marketing.
• After hours: a live answer or a fast text and callback. A voicemail should name a time the worker will hear from you.
• Missed calls: alert a person within minutes, since a worker on break calls the next number.

What fee limits should intake know?

Only enough to answer “what does it cost” in one sentence. The fee is set by the state, so say that and offer the rest to the attorney. 28 jurisdictions set a percent cap on a workers’ comp lawyer’s fee. In California, the workers’ compensation judge sets a reasonable attorney’s fee. Your attorney writes the one-line answer for your state. See attorney fee caps by state.

Which Local Services calls will you get?

Google’s descriptions place workers’ comp, SSA claims, SSI and veterans’ disability under ‘Disability lawyer’. If you list under that category, expect Social Security and VA calls too. Give the team a short “do we take it” list so those calls are routed or declined politely. See Local Services Ads.

What is a signed client, and what are the early signals?

A signed client is a worker who signed your fee agreement for a comp claim, counted once per claim on the signing date, from your own case-management system. Early signals come before it:

• Calls answered within minutes, by language.
• Callers who gave both dates and the claim status.
• Consultations booked and kept. These are a signal, never the final count.

What should you measure?

The table works best if every call is logged by reason, so a rise in “information only” shows a problem upstream.

Intake monitoring can listen to your calls and report these. The ad side is on workers’ comp ads, the search side on workers’ comp SEO, and the overview on workers’ compensation. To test your own line, use the secret-shop worksheet. This is not legal advice.

What this means for your firm

• Triage “on the job” and the deadline on the first call, and flag them for the attorney.
• Plan for Spanish and after-hours calls before you turn on Local Services ads.
• Count signed clients, and treat early signals as signals only.

Start with a free video review of how your intake sounds today.