The above title refers, according to a Google search, to a common phrase used by persons complaining about the handling of their claims.
Let’s put that to a test.
One person, several years ago, reported that she had successfully returned to work a year before. A favorable outcome? Not really, according to the worker.
The return to work, it was related, was not due to the wishes of the worker, nor the advice of her doctor. Instead, it was caused by “the work comp insurance idiots”.
The complaining worker went on to say that she was “glad to be back to work”. (After a year’s absence)
What sense can we possibly make of this? All the goals of the work comp system have been met by “idiots”. Was there any statement of gratitude by the worker? No, but she was glad to be back to work.
The person was apparently single. It would be interesting to hear what a spouse might have said about the “work comp idiots”.
The lesson seems to be that subconsciously the workers have adopted the negligence claim paradigm. The best outcome for disability is a large settlement figure, followed by a near miraculous cure shortly after the check clears.
But the worker above coped with the mishandling of her disability claim, even to the point of being “glad to be back to work”.
Everyone in the comp process knows that they too are one of the “idiots”, especially the workers’ lawyers who, perhaps not surprisingly, get the brunt of most of these comments. Notice, no one in the above received credit. Why should the worker thank the treating doctor and her lawyer for failing to stand up to the other “idiots”?
From one idiot to another, let us all push on and do our best to produce such failures.
Author: Attorney Theodore Ronca is a practicing lawyer from Aquebogue, NY. He is a frequent writer and speaker, and has represented employers in the areas of workers’ compensation, Social Security disability, employee disability plans and subrogation for over 30 years. Attorney Ronca can be reached at 631-722-2100. [email protected]
Editor Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their worker’s compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: [email protected].
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