Re: Why victimize the Victims

In Reply to: Why victimize the Victims posted by CTS_Victims on January 07, 2004 at 03:37:16:

Apology for the confusion created by my post.

What I intended is to start an awareness campaign to counter the governor in California and the whole Worker Comp system portraying injured workers as criminals.

They try to portray the problems facing the state as problems created by injured workers running up huge medical and benefit bill.

I am not asking any one to do any thing specific, but if you want to do any thing (in California) you can write ideas in your local paper, you can write to state representative and so on.

What I wanted to explain is that the problem is not the injured worker's who have to go through very precise tests to prove they injured --in my case I had to wait 24 months without any treatment so my insurer would acknowledge I have CTS caused by using laptop computerat work -- but the problem is in the Worker's Comp concept.

Remembet that why the workers comp was created in the first place, it was created to protect employers, I appreciate that some Workers Comp officials stand with honest injured workers but the issue here is the concept and what matters is Wokers Comp was created to protest Employers from lawsuites by injured workers.

By creating workers Comp employers realized they are no longer liable to what ever happens at work to employees, they just dump them to workers comp. All the employers have to do is pay a premium. This is a very cheap way to get rid of liability. When the employers know they are immune from lawsuites they become lax on safety. This is why we have more and more injuries. Employees hardly get any safety training and no enforcement to any safety rules.

The Worker Comp system is crumbling because the system as is encourages injuries, these injuries to injured workers are real but to employers they are numbers and premiums that buy immunity from liability.

What we need is a system that promotes safety so the number of injuries go down. We need a system that looks at the employee that is an entity with rights and not just a file at HR.

: Looks like they found a magic solution to solve the budget shortfal in California.

: Now they found that victimizing injured workers is the magic wand.

: Please restore our right to sue our employers and those who were negligent in causing our injuries and take all you stupid workers comp and shove it up yopu A$$ Mr. Nager

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: Schwarzenegger also has proposed sweeping legislation aimed at bringing the state's worker compensation costs down to at least the national average. The proposal would limit how much doctors, pharmacies and clinics are paid and impose new restrictions on how job-injuries are evaluated and how medical disputes are resolved.

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: The average cost to employers for worker compensation insurance has nearly tripled since 1999 to nearly $30 billion a year. Schwarzenegger's plan is designed to cut more than $11 billion.