‘Scalable Compassion’ In Workers’ Comp

It’s a common story: A worker falls off a ladder while performing his job and gets hurt. A bone is broken, a disc is ruptured — the worker is in pain and can’t go to work. He files a workers’ comp claim but needs a doctor right away and chooses one at random.

As the claims process begins, it moves slower than the claimant would like because of systems and policies that have been in place for many years.

But the claimant needs money now to pay the bill from his out-of-network doctor as well as for expenses that mount up while he is out of work, so he engages a lawyer.

This prolongs the claim and adds paperwork and time — more time that the claimant is out of work as well as more time spent by the payor trying to settle the claim, all of which cost the worker’s company money.

This scenario is clearly less than ideal, and it does not represent how workers’ comp is supposed to work, yet it happens.