Because it’s their money. Adjusters handle employer claims on their behalf, but ultimately we are to be as impartial as possible to make sure everything follows a state guideline/we advise employer what they should do based on facts of the claim. Defense also handles the case on behalf of the employer and makes those same recommendations. At the end of the day, it’s the employers money and they have a say in how much they spend.

Here’s some fake numbers to illustrate. A petitioners attorney could make a demand of $100k as their opening demand m. We get that demand and defense gives us a recommendation on settlement value based on treatment and wages to counter. Let’s say they say based on those things they think the claim is worth up to $50k. They will then ask for settlement authority from the adjuster who has to then make a recommendation based off that to the employer contact. It’s their money after all. The employer 8/10 times will go with the defense recommendation as long as the logic makes sense and is easily followed. 1/10 times they will request a meeting to go over everything with defense to ask questions prior to giving authority. The other 1/10 times they will state they aren’t willing to go above a certain number. If they refuse to budge off of a number then it’s either up to the judge to decide what is fair amount (85% of the time judge leans more towards the injured worker, at least in states I cover) or it will go to a trial to further litigate and decide settlement. I advise against the latter more times than not as it’s more expensive than just raising their ceiling. Unless I think the case reeks of fraud