When I began this blog, it was because I have so much to say about the very shady world of work comp here in Florida and overall. But I did not realize how down I still was from the 20 year battle to survive within this "system" that protects only those who are NOT injured.
It is my understanding that Work Comp was originally developed so that injured employees would receive medical care and loss wage protection rather than by way of suing their employer. It was intended to be a good system. However, over the years, it became a business of its own with major profits to be had if money is NOT paid out to the injured. Thus began the lobbyists for the insurance companies, the legislation that took benefits AWAY from the injured and more. Per one doctor who attended the annual work comp conference in Orlando, the adjusters are told that all claims are fraudulent and that more money not spent on injured employees means more money to them in bonuses.
I had one of the finest doctors a person could want. He refused to be bullied by the threats from the work comp reps as they wanted him to change his opinion to match theirs. He was definitely not one of the many docs who will write whatever the insurance company wants for the appropriate fee. Despite his good health, he passed away while at an out of state medical meeting from a sudden heart attack. This was a terrible blow to many. This doctor was a man of ethics, of honesty and compassion. Not like some others from NW FL who would sell their souls to the devil and throw away their patient's healthcare if the price was right.
This road is full of potholes filled with corruption and roadblocks that keep innocent, injured employees from receiving proper healthcare, including doctor appointments, prescribed treatments and medications. There are so many hurdles put in the way of the injured employee, that the toll grows heavy not only on them and their original health problem, but often leads to depression and can effect the entire family. Relationships are strained and this, too, adds to the declining health of the injured employee.
It is like being sucked into a giant whirlpool that is stirred up by the insurance companies, some of the employers and biased legislation that is written by state lawmakers in favor of the insurance companies and the employers. Every session they tighten these laws so that it is almost impossible for an honest, injured employee to obtain legal counsel and to obtain what they need to treat, let alone repair, their injury.
When I first became injured and sought treatment through work comp, I was told by many that they (W/C) would chew me up and spit me out - that I should just give up because they would destroy my life. Well, they came darn close on several occasions with the unbelievable stunts they pulled. We will talk about things that can happen and that one should be prepared to handle in case it does come up. Fortunately, I did not have to sign any gag order, so I can speak freely.
There is no manual that I know of that was written exclusively to help injured employees to know what might come their way when dealing with work comp. My doctor was starting or about to start on a book that would help injured employees in dealing with work comp through knowledge, understanding why things happen and how it truly applies to them. He asked me if I would be interested in helping him with information from my experiences. Well, he is not here to write what I know would have been an extremely important book about work comp, not just for the injured, but on many levels. I hope the info that I can share in this blog will help those who are caught in that whirlpool to get free and make it back to the top.
We will be talking about so many areas: attorneys, doctors, physical therapists, adjusters, denials of medications or treatment and more.
My prayers are with all of you and your families. Back Soon!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The Gag Is Off - Let's Talk
Any injured employee who is a "victim" of the Florida work comp system - or possibly any other - knows that it is impossible to be able speak without retributions while you are in the system.
Well, after almost 20 years in this "God Forsaken, corrupt, money is number one and da** the employee" system, I am out of it. And with no gag order! So, folks, let's talk about how things are really done. Let's talk about the employees who are abused by the adjusters with medications taken away, how the laws are passed to suit the employers and insurance companies as they are the ones with the money to support the legislator's tastes through the lobbying and pay money to the candidates running for government offices.
We will be taking it a subject at a time - as there are sooooo many.
So stay tuned. And to any injured employees out there who have been kicked around by this system that was originally created to be sure we received proper medical treatment, feel free to join in with your documented experiences.
To all of you in the W/C system who are still struggling and to your family members who can not understand your pains and fears, my heart & prayers are with you.
Well, after almost 20 years in this "God Forsaken, corrupt, money is number one and da** the employee" system, I am out of it. And with no gag order! So, folks, let's talk about how things are really done. Let's talk about the employees who are abused by the adjusters with medications taken away, how the laws are passed to suit the employers and insurance companies as they are the ones with the money to support the legislator's tastes through the lobbying and pay money to the candidates running for government offices.
We will be taking it a subject at a time - as there are sooooo many.
So stay tuned. And to any injured employees out there who have been kicked around by this system that was originally created to be sure we received proper medical treatment, feel free to join in with your documented experiences.
To all of you in the W/C system who are still struggling and to your family members who can not understand your pains and fears, my heart & prayers are with you.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Role of Physical Therapists in FL Work Comp
At Least Some Physical Therapists Part of Fl Work Comp System
There is a woman who is an employee in the office of an elected FL government official, who previously had worked in the office of some physical therapists, where part of her office duties were to prepare the reports from the therapist(s) to the work comp insurance companies about the injured employees they treated. It was very upsetting to her that the reports contained information that she knew to be false and hurtful to these employees. Of course, she felt she was not in a position to do anything about these lies that continued to bring harm to these employees who are caught in a system of lies and deceit. Where is the check and balance to keep false reports from being sent day in and day out – reports that destroy lives?
And who are these people who prepare these false reports? Who are these people who repeatedly refuse the treatments and medications that are prescribed by employees’ doctors? Who are these doctors, therapists, etc., who sell their services and reports to the insurance companies? Do they not have consciences, souls, an understanding of right and wrong – or does the almighty buck mean that much to them?
Is anyone in this Fl Work Comp system honest???? Is anyone in this system held responsible to honestly help the injured employees? Or is this system so corrupt that injured employees are lost as others turn away? Is it fair game for work comp insurance companies and attorneys to bury these employees alive – previously hard working, everyday Americans - under false reports through manipulative means such as paid for services from medical providers and, if those do not work, threats to the doctors who try to protect their patients.
This is all about money. Keep the work comp premiums and costs down for the employers. Keep costs down for medical providers. Keep those groups happy so they will stay in Florida and keep paying their taxes. Keep the money going to the work comp insurance companies and the attorneys who represent them. Not much money will go to attorneys who represent the employees as the legislators have just about set the laws where an employee now can hardly find an attorney to help them.
So what if that means throwing the injured employees under the bus? Who are these employees anyway? THEY are honest, hard working people who were hurt due to an accident at work and who have been thrown into a system that is NOT working to help their health as originally intended, but that continues to treat them as less than a second class citizen. Isn’t it amazing that some cases will see the work comp side spend more money fighting the employee’s health claims than the total they could have settled with the employee? They just want to beat the employee to a bloody pulp. What is the suicide rate in the FL Work Comp system???????
There is a woman who is an employee in the office of an elected FL government official, who previously had worked in the office of some physical therapists, where part of her office duties were to prepare the reports from the therapist(s) to the work comp insurance companies about the injured employees they treated. It was very upsetting to her that the reports contained information that she knew to be false and hurtful to these employees. Of course, she felt she was not in a position to do anything about these lies that continued to bring harm to these employees who are caught in a system of lies and deceit. Where is the check and balance to keep false reports from being sent day in and day out – reports that destroy lives?
And who are these people who prepare these false reports? Who are these people who repeatedly refuse the treatments and medications that are prescribed by employees’ doctors? Who are these doctors, therapists, etc., who sell their services and reports to the insurance companies? Do they not have consciences, souls, an understanding of right and wrong – or does the almighty buck mean that much to them?
Is anyone in this Fl Work Comp system honest???? Is anyone in this system held responsible to honestly help the injured employees? Or is this system so corrupt that injured employees are lost as others turn away? Is it fair game for work comp insurance companies and attorneys to bury these employees alive – previously hard working, everyday Americans - under false reports through manipulative means such as paid for services from medical providers and, if those do not work, threats to the doctors who try to protect their patients.
This is all about money. Keep the work comp premiums and costs down for the employers. Keep costs down for medical providers. Keep those groups happy so they will stay in Florida and keep paying their taxes. Keep the money going to the work comp insurance companies and the attorneys who represent them. Not much money will go to attorneys who represent the employees as the legislators have just about set the laws where an employee now can hardly find an attorney to help them.
So what if that means throwing the injured employees under the bus? Who are these employees anyway? THEY are honest, hard working people who were hurt due to an accident at work and who have been thrown into a system that is NOT working to help their health as originally intended, but that continues to treat them as less than a second class citizen. Isn’t it amazing that some cases will see the work comp side spend more money fighting the employee’s health claims than the total they could have settled with the employee? They just want to beat the employee to a bloody pulp. What is the suicide rate in the FL Work Comp system???????
Thursday, February 21, 2008
FL W/Comp Work Hardening – Therapy or Torment?
Imagine this - here you are – you have been on disability for a few years, when you have a change in work comp doctors. The change in docs is, in itself a separate story to be discussed in its own post. Interestingly, there has also been a new adjustor assigned to the insurance company case. In this story, there is no – and has never been - a nurse/case manager assigned to assist the injured employee in any way – and this new adjustor, unlike her predecessors, refuses to even answer a phone call or letter from the employee – tho her letters to the employee all end with “Please contact me if you have any questions”. Just some frill to dazzle the eyes of some beholders who will never know that the adjustor treats the employee like a second class citizen. Adjustors – again, another story!
So, shortly after the new adjustor and new doc are on board, the injured employee is sent to something called Work Hardening Therapy. It is kind of like day camp to get the employees back in physical shape to go back to work. The employee is advised that this will involve 4-5 days per week and 4-5 hours per day. But, as determined by the therapist, the employee is not physically able to be there more than 2 hours per day and 2 days per week for only very light stretching type exercises. The therapist recommends this schedule for a few weeks to see if stamina can be built up and days increased. The employee (who requires a cane or walker for mobility) has a bad problem with dizziness and balance – frequently losing balance and having to grab on to someone or something to keep from falling. This becomes a very well known situation among the staff and other “campers”.
Pressure is put on the employee to increase to 3 days per week or they may face having to be dropped from the program. As any injured employee in a work comp system knows – for sure in FL – you live in fear of doing anything wrong or your benefits and/or medications can be taken away from you in a heart beat – more stories here to come! So the employee agrees to move to 3 days per week. The next week consists of “camp” on Mon, Tues and Thursday. Note that the employee still has not been able to last any longer than 2 hours on any given day. By Thursday morning, the employee arrives already exhausted, weak and shaky. While working on the BTE machine – an electronic machine that puts injured patients through a range of mobility exercises with a variety of tensions, etc. – the employee is leaning on their cane, yet is very unstable, requiring the machine operator to put his body around the employee like a horseshoe to be there to catch the employee if needed.
The machine stops, the employee is very dizzy and tries to reach the table and chairs a little distance up the hall to sit down, but does not make it. They reach for one of the chairs to stable themselves, but the chair goes down and the employee loses all balance, tumbling across the hallway that is used for others to transport pallets and other equipment until hitting a wall with some force which stops the tumbling. The therapist assigned to this employee is not present this day, but the employee reports immediately to the other therapist that they think there is an injury. The employee asks the therapist what the protocol is in this case – do they go to the ER or what? The therapist advises the employee to GO HOME and calls the adjustor where a decision is made that the employee should NOT go to the emergency room, but should see the recently assigned pain management doctor the next day for a previously scheduled appointment.
This doctor does not look at the bruised and swollen ankle, does not look at the swollen wrist and does not check the shoulder. He does ask to see how high the hand can be raised in the air, which is barely shoulder high. He says nothing is wrong and do not seek medical help. If it gets worse, to contact him. Hmmm ….
Over the weekend, this employee – who has already been diagnosed with RSD and Fibromyalgia for many years – is in greater discomfort with the new injuries. The following Monday, they first contact the pain doctor’s office and send a fax to confirm. Then they see the regular therapist, who does get them into an orthopedic office and the results are a brace on a fractured ankle with a piece of bone dislodged and floating around, a cast on a fractured right wrist (a fracture to the left wrist was the start of the RSD) and an injury to the right Rotator Cuff with therapy to follow.
Interesting that a call was received by the employee from the pain doc’s office the following Friday to again tell the employee NOT to seek medical assistance for the fall in the Work Hardening Therapy! After letting the nurse speak, the employee then told the nurse about the visit to the ortho doc and the results. The employee was put on hold for 30 minutes, hung up, called back, was told “they are talking about you in the doc’s office – hold on”, was put on hold again for along period and no one came back on the line. When the employee tried to discuss the injuries from the fall with the pain doc on a following appointment, he asked if the employee was referring to the fracture that originally caused the RSD many years ago. He denied any knowledge of the injuries received in the Work Hardening Therapy and never did acknowledge them. If this sounds strange … well, this is only one story about this “doc”. Brings to mind an old song about a farm and on that farm there was a duck and that duck did say ….
Work comp insurance paid for the treatment of the injuries, though the employee continues to have problems from those injuries with complications from the original injury to their nervous system. The adjustor and the work comp attorney also totally ignored what the employee was put through in this situation and continue to seek ways to make this employee accept a settlement that would not cover medications and living costs for more than a couple of years, irregardless of the harm they are causing physically, emotionally and mentally to the employee.
Just from this story alone, there are other stories to be told…… Stay Tuned!
Click on work comp below and join our poll:
workcomp
So, shortly after the new adjustor and new doc are on board, the injured employee is sent to something called Work Hardening Therapy. It is kind of like day camp to get the employees back in physical shape to go back to work. The employee is advised that this will involve 4-5 days per week and 4-5 hours per day. But, as determined by the therapist, the employee is not physically able to be there more than 2 hours per day and 2 days per week for only very light stretching type exercises. The therapist recommends this schedule for a few weeks to see if stamina can be built up and days increased. The employee (who requires a cane or walker for mobility) has a bad problem with dizziness and balance – frequently losing balance and having to grab on to someone or something to keep from falling. This becomes a very well known situation among the staff and other “campers”.
Pressure is put on the employee to increase to 3 days per week or they may face having to be dropped from the program. As any injured employee in a work comp system knows – for sure in FL – you live in fear of doing anything wrong or your benefits and/or medications can be taken away from you in a heart beat – more stories here to come! So the employee agrees to move to 3 days per week. The next week consists of “camp” on Mon, Tues and Thursday. Note that the employee still has not been able to last any longer than 2 hours on any given day. By Thursday morning, the employee arrives already exhausted, weak and shaky. While working on the BTE machine – an electronic machine that puts injured patients through a range of mobility exercises with a variety of tensions, etc. – the employee is leaning on their cane, yet is very unstable, requiring the machine operator to put his body around the employee like a horseshoe to be there to catch the employee if needed.
The machine stops, the employee is very dizzy and tries to reach the table and chairs a little distance up the hall to sit down, but does not make it. They reach for one of the chairs to stable themselves, but the chair goes down and the employee loses all balance, tumbling across the hallway that is used for others to transport pallets and other equipment until hitting a wall with some force which stops the tumbling. The therapist assigned to this employee is not present this day, but the employee reports immediately to the other therapist that they think there is an injury. The employee asks the therapist what the protocol is in this case – do they go to the ER or what? The therapist advises the employee to GO HOME and calls the adjustor where a decision is made that the employee should NOT go to the emergency room, but should see the recently assigned pain management doctor the next day for a previously scheduled appointment.
This doctor does not look at the bruised and swollen ankle, does not look at the swollen wrist and does not check the shoulder. He does ask to see how high the hand can be raised in the air, which is barely shoulder high. He says nothing is wrong and do not seek medical help. If it gets worse, to contact him. Hmmm ….
Over the weekend, this employee – who has already been diagnosed with RSD and Fibromyalgia for many years – is in greater discomfort with the new injuries. The following Monday, they first contact the pain doctor’s office and send a fax to confirm. Then they see the regular therapist, who does get them into an orthopedic office and the results are a brace on a fractured ankle with a piece of bone dislodged and floating around, a cast on a fractured right wrist (a fracture to the left wrist was the start of the RSD) and an injury to the right Rotator Cuff with therapy to follow.
Interesting that a call was received by the employee from the pain doc’s office the following Friday to again tell the employee NOT to seek medical assistance for the fall in the Work Hardening Therapy! After letting the nurse speak, the employee then told the nurse about the visit to the ortho doc and the results. The employee was put on hold for 30 minutes, hung up, called back, was told “they are talking about you in the doc’s office – hold on”, was put on hold again for along period and no one came back on the line. When the employee tried to discuss the injuries from the fall with the pain doc on a following appointment, he asked if the employee was referring to the fracture that originally caused the RSD many years ago. He denied any knowledge of the injuries received in the Work Hardening Therapy and never did acknowledge them. If this sounds strange … well, this is only one story about this “doc”. Brings to mind an old song about a farm and on that farm there was a duck and that duck did say ….
Work comp insurance paid for the treatment of the injuries, though the employee continues to have problems from those injuries with complications from the original injury to their nervous system. The adjustor and the work comp attorney also totally ignored what the employee was put through in this situation and continue to seek ways to make this employee accept a settlement that would not cover medications and living costs for more than a couple of years, irregardless of the harm they are causing physically, emotionally and mentally to the employee.
Just from this story alone, there are other stories to be told…… Stay Tuned!
Click on work comp below and join our poll:
workcomp
FL Work Comp Laws Hurt FL Citizens
Legislators need to know what their laws are doing to Florida citizens. The work comp insurance companies and employers have lobbyists to constantly pursue them, present them with “facts” that are certainly presented in their favor and they have the money to get the attention of the Legislators. Injured employees have only a few dedicated attorneys and health professionals to stand by them. As a whole, the injured employees are not only too sick to organize a group effort to “lobby” the legislators, but they are also incredibly intimidated by the insurance companies, attorneys and employers so that they are afraid to say a word to anyone about the treatment they are subjected to on a constant basis. The laws have lowered the number of attorneys who are willing to take on injured employee’s cases. Some very questionable and unethical strategies involving the pressure applied to some doctors to get them to change their diagnosis or stop treating an employee are happening regularly and seriously need review by an ethics board.
The injured employees in Florida are great in number and what they have been and are being put through is unspeakable. Doctor prescribed medications and treatments refused – checks withheld – mental and emotional cruelty dished out to try to force employees to take settlements that will not cover their medications – trying to force work comp costs onto Medicare – false accusations of fraud - and more.
Yes, there are some employees who abuse the system. Just as many employers abuse the system – one in Panama City comes to mind immediately. Have the FL Legislators passed laws to hurt the employers because some have committed fraud??? Have the legislators taken away access to attorneys for employers? Have they forgotten that many (if not most) of the injured employees were hard working, productive citizens until an accident caused by an unsafe condition at work – something out of their control – changed their livelihood, health and everything for which they had worked. Many of these people had worked for many years – as much as 20+ years – and have paid their taxes, work comp, etc. Why now treat them as if they are criminals?
As the old expression goes, you don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. But, in Florida, if you are an injured employee, get ready to be thrown out. You don’t abuse the honest people who have worked and been a part of the productive citizenship of Florida and are the victims of an accident that took away not only their employment, but also their social lives, their hobbies and in some cases, their ability to even go to church. The treatment dished out by the work comp insurance companies and attorneys rips apart self esteem, emotional and mental stability and families.
Is there not any kind of safeguard to stop the abuse? Even hockey players have penalty boxes and have to leave the ice for inappropriate behavior. Even animals are protected under animal cruelty laws. When will injured employees get protection and fair treatment? When will the employees’ doctors not be subject to threats if they (the docs) are not willing to change their diagnosis or release the patient from their care because they truly care about the patient and their health? When will the employees not have to be sent to the “hired guns” – the docs who are well known to write reports to favor the insurance companies – to prepare reports to dispute the doctors who have been treating the employees?
If the employee does have someone to represent them, it still takes a year or more to get a hearing in a court. If a medication is being refused, what good is it to wait for a year or more without the medication? Usually, the employee has to try to find another medication somewhere else or just give up taking that one and risk their health – Ding! That round goes to work comp and the employee’s health suffers again. How many rounds does an injured employee have in them – well, folks, that seems to be exactly the name of the game!!! Wear that injured employee out – make them too darn tired and/or too darn sick to get back in the ring – make them throw in the towel and walk away with a few pennies – or maybe even nothing! Be sure you make them crawl out of the ring, do not leave them with anything left of their former self.
Yes, there is a need for accurate diagnosis, but many of these cases turn into witch hunts!
It is an interesting fact that I have been told that there is not a kept statistic on how many injured employees in the Florida work comp system commit suicide. I hope this is wrong, because I think this is information that would very much tell how efficient the FL work comp system is performing. It seems that most docs I have seen and most knowledgeable people with whom I speak on the subject know of at least a handful of people who were honest injured workers who could no longer take the system and took the permanent way out. I have a feeling that the number would be frightening. To know that people were taking their lives out of desperation from being trapped in a life of illness and mistreatment by strangers who claim that they have the knowledge to make life altering decisions as lightly as if they were talking about the maintenance of a car and not a human being is surely a sign that the Florida government either does not care about the injured employees or looks upon all of them as a nuisance..
More To Come…Stay Tuned
The injured employees in Florida are great in number and what they have been and are being put through is unspeakable. Doctor prescribed medications and treatments refused – checks withheld – mental and emotional cruelty dished out to try to force employees to take settlements that will not cover their medications – trying to force work comp costs onto Medicare – false accusations of fraud - and more.
Yes, there are some employees who abuse the system. Just as many employers abuse the system – one in Panama City comes to mind immediately. Have the FL Legislators passed laws to hurt the employers because some have committed fraud??? Have the legislators taken away access to attorneys for employers? Have they forgotten that many (if not most) of the injured employees were hard working, productive citizens until an accident caused by an unsafe condition at work – something out of their control – changed their livelihood, health and everything for which they had worked. Many of these people had worked for many years – as much as 20+ years – and have paid their taxes, work comp, etc. Why now treat them as if they are criminals?
As the old expression goes, you don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. But, in Florida, if you are an injured employee, get ready to be thrown out. You don’t abuse the honest people who have worked and been a part of the productive citizenship of Florida and are the victims of an accident that took away not only their employment, but also their social lives, their hobbies and in some cases, their ability to even go to church. The treatment dished out by the work comp insurance companies and attorneys rips apart self esteem, emotional and mental stability and families.
Is there not any kind of safeguard to stop the abuse? Even hockey players have penalty boxes and have to leave the ice for inappropriate behavior. Even animals are protected under animal cruelty laws. When will injured employees get protection and fair treatment? When will the employees’ doctors not be subject to threats if they (the docs) are not willing to change their diagnosis or release the patient from their care because they truly care about the patient and their health? When will the employees not have to be sent to the “hired guns” – the docs who are well known to write reports to favor the insurance companies – to prepare reports to dispute the doctors who have been treating the employees?
If the employee does have someone to represent them, it still takes a year or more to get a hearing in a court. If a medication is being refused, what good is it to wait for a year or more without the medication? Usually, the employee has to try to find another medication somewhere else or just give up taking that one and risk their health – Ding! That round goes to work comp and the employee’s health suffers again. How many rounds does an injured employee have in them – well, folks, that seems to be exactly the name of the game!!! Wear that injured employee out – make them too darn tired and/or too darn sick to get back in the ring – make them throw in the towel and walk away with a few pennies – or maybe even nothing! Be sure you make them crawl out of the ring, do not leave them with anything left of their former self.
Yes, there is a need for accurate diagnosis, but many of these cases turn into witch hunts!
It is an interesting fact that I have been told that there is not a kept statistic on how many injured employees in the Florida work comp system commit suicide. I hope this is wrong, because I think this is information that would very much tell how efficient the FL work comp system is performing. It seems that most docs I have seen and most knowledgeable people with whom I speak on the subject know of at least a handful of people who were honest injured workers who could no longer take the system and took the permanent way out. I have a feeling that the number would be frightening. To know that people were taking their lives out of desperation from being trapped in a life of illness and mistreatment by strangers who claim that they have the knowledge to make life altering decisions as lightly as if they were talking about the maintenance of a car and not a human being is surely a sign that the Florida government either does not care about the injured employees or looks upon all of them as a nuisance..
More To Come…Stay Tuned
Monday, February 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
More Insight on Florida Work Comp's Effects On Innocent, Injured Workers
Mr Noyes,
Your comments are greatly appreciated! As one who works within this "system" on behalf of those of us who have been injured, you have certainly seen how this destroys not only the self esteem of the individual worker, but how families are torn apart and many of the injured wind up alone, homeless and without the medical care that they so deserve. But it certainly protects those who put their employees in harm's way, causing many of the injuries to begin with. Sure would like to see some statistic here on how many injuries were caused through employee carelessness and others by work conditions. I know what caused mine!
I would truly like to know what the suicide rate among injured employees is in the state of Florida, but I have not been able to find any stats on that subject. Is this a well hidden secret or is this information available in a place where I have not yet looked? If you or anyone else can help me to find this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Just a glance at the forums which have been setup for work comp victims online show the wide range of suffering that so many are being put through just because they suffered a legitimate injury at work. Not to mention the indignities!
When you become "one of those work comp people", you are stripped of your previous life, no matter how much you contributed to your community, church and childrens' clubs. You become - in the words of the work comp attorneys - a malingerer, a user, a taker, etc. No matter how far from the truth these adjectives may be, you must sit and take them, because reaching across a table and snatching the hair off some work comp attorney's or adjustor's head would be considered an assault of some kind.
I worked hard for 25+ years. Call me a malingerer? You need a vacation where the sun don't shine!
You mentioned the need for the injured employees to get together in Tallahassee. The work comp adjustors would have a field day with that one! They would hit the attending employees with all kinds of trumped up charges in order to again withold medications, wage loss checks and other benefits. Heaven forbid if an injured employee should tell anyone outside of the "system - how it really is! Isn't that also one of the reasons why an employee who settles must sign a gag order?
It is very clear that the legislature has passed laws making it even more difficult for an injured employee to get representation - someone who understands the laws to help them get medical treatment and appropriate income. Remember the canaries who were put into cages and sent down into the coal mines? When they quit singing, it meant they were dead from gases in the mine shafts. Well, the work comp system in Florida doesn't seem to have much more respect for the injured employees than was given to those little canaries. Here, injured employee, climb into this cage and when we have sent you down into enough mine shafts, we might let you see some sunlight - or maybe not.
Do the people who make these laws and the the insurance adjustors who condemn sick employees to go without medications ever think about the results of their actions? Somehow, I don't think so - and I bet they do not know how beautiful the song of the Canary can be on a sunny day.
Your comments are greatly appreciated! As one who works within this "system" on behalf of those of us who have been injured, you have certainly seen how this destroys not only the self esteem of the individual worker, but how families are torn apart and many of the injured wind up alone, homeless and without the medical care that they so deserve. But it certainly protects those who put their employees in harm's way, causing many of the injuries to begin with. Sure would like to see some statistic here on how many injuries were caused through employee carelessness and others by work conditions. I know what caused mine!
I would truly like to know what the suicide rate among injured employees is in the state of Florida, but I have not been able to find any stats on that subject. Is this a well hidden secret or is this information available in a place where I have not yet looked? If you or anyone else can help me to find this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Just a glance at the forums which have been setup for work comp victims online show the wide range of suffering that so many are being put through just because they suffered a legitimate injury at work. Not to mention the indignities!
When you become "one of those work comp people", you are stripped of your previous life, no matter how much you contributed to your community, church and childrens' clubs. You become - in the words of the work comp attorneys - a malingerer, a user, a taker, etc. No matter how far from the truth these adjectives may be, you must sit and take them, because reaching across a table and snatching the hair off some work comp attorney's or adjustor's head would be considered an assault of some kind.
I worked hard for 25+ years. Call me a malingerer? You need a vacation where the sun don't shine!
You mentioned the need for the injured employees to get together in Tallahassee. The work comp adjustors would have a field day with that one! They would hit the attending employees with all kinds of trumped up charges in order to again withold medications, wage loss checks and other benefits. Heaven forbid if an injured employee should tell anyone outside of the "system - how it really is! Isn't that also one of the reasons why an employee who settles must sign a gag order?
It is very clear that the legislature has passed laws making it even more difficult for an injured employee to get representation - someone who understands the laws to help them get medical treatment and appropriate income. Remember the canaries who were put into cages and sent down into the coal mines? When they quit singing, it meant they were dead from gases in the mine shafts. Well, the work comp system in Florida doesn't seem to have much more respect for the injured employees than was given to those little canaries. Here, injured employee, climb into this cage and when we have sent you down into enough mine shafts, we might let you see some sunlight - or maybe not.
Do the people who make these laws and the the insurance adjustors who condemn sick employees to go without medications ever think about the results of their actions? Somehow, I don't think so - and I bet they do not know how beautiful the song of the Canary can be on a sunny day.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Florida Work Comp System - A Fine Example of Corruption
How about if our state legislators look past the insurance company lobbyists long enough to see the devastating effects that their legislative rulings have caused for injured employees and their families?
Has anyone taken the time to look at at the horrible abuse that goes on daily to multitudes of innocent, injured workers by insurance company adjustors in Florida through holding back doctor prescribed medications and treatments (causing further illnesses) in order to make an injured employee accept a low settlement that will not even cover their medications or to just give up and go away. Or how treating doctors who are "manipulated" by work comp attorneys into dropping a patient's case or diagnosis, so that a hired doc who is insurance friendly can write a report the way the insurance company wants it to read?
Just how many of these innocent people have given up by ending their own lives? That lets the insurance company off the financial hook!
Are there any legislators who care about the injured - or do the injured not have enough money to contribute to political campaigns?
Well, I think it is time to start looking at some of these tactics and some of those who are involved in the abuse of innocent, injured employees! Stay Tuned!!!
Has anyone taken the time to look at at the horrible abuse that goes on daily to multitudes of innocent, injured workers by insurance company adjustors in Florida through holding back doctor prescribed medications and treatments (causing further illnesses) in order to make an injured employee accept a low settlement that will not even cover their medications or to just give up and go away. Or how treating doctors who are "manipulated" by work comp attorneys into dropping a patient's case or diagnosis, so that a hired doc who is insurance friendly can write a report the way the insurance company wants it to read?
Just how many of these innocent people have given up by ending their own lives? That lets the insurance company off the financial hook!
Are there any legislators who care about the injured - or do the injured not have enough money to contribute to political campaigns?
Well, I think it is time to start looking at some of these tactics and some of those who are involved in the abuse of innocent, injured employees! Stay Tuned!!!
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