The holiday season is already a bad time of year for recipients of workers’ compensation benefits, but many workers’ compensation insurance carriers engage in troubling conduct that makes it unbearable.

Workers’ compensation benefits provide a critical financial lifeline to injured workers, but lost wage benefits only partially reimburse those workers for the income they have lost. As a result, they and their families must survive on less income than they earned before their injuries—while dealing with the stress and pain of recovering from those injuries. This puts them in a financially precarious situation, requiring them to adjust their lifestyles and cut costs in light of their reduced monthly income. During the holiday season, this cost cutting can be especially painful if it means reducing or eliminating the gifts injured workers and their spouses give to their children, grandchildren, and other family members.