Some workers say the system is stacked against them
DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER Star-Tribune energy reporter | Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 12:00 am
When Jerry Burgess was diagnosed with blood cancer, he wasn't sure whether it was work-related. All he and his family knew was that the medical and financial challenge had begun, and their first line of defense was a credit card.
It was nearly a year before his illness was determined to be work-related.
Even with a straightforward workplace injury, there's a certain lag time - particularly if a claim is initially denied. Meanwhile, car payments, rent and medical needs cannot be put on hold.
And if a person cannot immediately return to full or light-duty work, the impact is devastating.
"They lose their car, they lose their credit, then when they win their case their credit is still ruined," said Casper attorney Hampton Young.
Workers and attorneys allege that Wyoming's workers' compensation program seems to have an unspoken policy to put off or deny claims and medical bills until the injured person has met a nearly impossible burden of proof.
Meanwhile, when an injured worker is not working, he also is not adding to his 401(k), Social Security and other savings.
"The whole burden of proof is on the employee to prove it is work-related," Young said. "They deny cases for reasons that are tenuous at best."
Back injuries, hernias and some muscle and joint injuries rarely come with a forensic stamp of origin. That's why timing and comprehensive documentation is everything, Young said.
Not everyone agrees the system is stacked against the worker.
Bill Schilling, president of the Wyoming Business Alliance/Wyoming Heritage Foundation, said the subject of workers' compensation came up among businessmen at a recent Rotary Club meeting in Casper.
"Everyone at my table said they felt it (workers' compensation) was properly funded, and that in cases that were contested the employer lost in every instance," Schilling said. "They felt that a lot of these claims were not legitimate claims, but just overstated."
Larry Madsen, vice president of Black Hills Bentonite in Casper, said that in his experience workers' compensation has functioned well.
"From what I've seen, it's been quite fair to employees," Madsen said. "If there's any doubt, they seem to rule in favor of the employee."
Barb Brettin of Sheridan describes a different experience. She said denial of medical payments can happen any time during the process, even after a court order establishing benefits for an injured worker.
Brettin suffers from fibromyalgia related to a fall at work. She said years after her court order regarding benefits and coverage, she asked workers' compensation for a new case manager.
"Then they decided I needed to be re-evaluated, both mentally and physically," Brettin said. "They started shopping me around doctors to get answers they wanted."
Gary Child, Wyoming's outgoing Workers' Safety and Compensation Division administrator, said the agency doesn't shop for specific diagnoses. He said for "independent medical examinations," the division uses physicians closest to the injured worker, and who are specialists and willing to perform examinations.
Brettin said she's still fighting the division for benefits that were defined in a court order.
"I've been to so many doctors, and it's the same diagnosis over and over: fibromyalgia," she said. "How can they deny a court order?"
Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffertrib.com.