Risk & Insurance: Workers’ compensation claimants who hired an attorney reported significantly worse physical health and functioning roughly three years after their injuries than comparable workers without legal representation, according to a new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

Using an instrumental variables approach designed to isolate the causal effect of attorney involvement, WCRI found that represented workers scored about 10.2 points lower on a standard physical health measure, the SF-12v2, a decline the institute said represents roughly one standard deviation in physical health and functioning.


Read the full article here.  The new WCRI study is Attorney Representation, Health Recovery, and Medical Payments.  Visit its page on our website for more details, including information on how to get a copy!