• Workers' comp paralegals spend a lot of time talking to medical providers.young woman with laptop image by .shock from Fotolia.com
  
  Paralegals who practice in the specific area of law that covers workers' compensation cases assist attorneys with substantive, and usually voluminous, case management. Workers' compensation legal assistants need outstanding organizational and communication skills and a deep knowledge of the process that must occur in order for someone who was injured on the job to file a claim and collect benefits. These tips can help an experienced paralegal become a great workers' compensation paralegal.
  
  

Superior Organization

• Great paralegals handle workers' compensation administrative processes seamlessly, freeing up the mind and desk of the attorney they support so that he can concentrate on other aspects of the case. Each state has its own unique workers' compensation laws to cover people who are injured while on the job. A paralegal who assists in this area of practice must oversee each individual file to make certain it moves through each specific process from filing the claim through collecting benefits.
  
  

Outstanding Communication

• Workers' compensation paralegals spend a good deal of time on the phone and writing emails and letters to clients, other attorneys, medical providers and state regulatory boards. They are often in charge of scheduling interviews, depositions and independent medical examinations. They must have impeccable and efficient communication skills in order to keep everyone on the same page and to keep the case moving forward.
  
  

Medical Records Experience

• Medical records are a key component to workers' compensation cases, and a paralegal who works in this branch of the law should be comfortable working with health care documentation. Legal assistants should be able to organize and index records from multiple providers as well as summarize treatment plans and create detailed medical history chronologies and case time lines. All of these skills will be invaluable to the attorney who is overseeing the case.
  
  

Hearing Assistance

• A great workers' compensation paralegal will be so familiar with the cases she handles that she can assist the attorney by representing clients at hearings. In most states, this is legal as long as the client consents and the paralegal has attorney supervision.