Posted on 10/09/2004 7:49:45 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Despite legislation approved in April that overhauled the state's workers' compensation system, injured workers still face lengthy delays in getting treatment and resolving insurance claims.
The main reason is that the new legislation took effect before critical rules and guidelines could be developed to accompany it, according to The Sacramento Bee. Officials say the new rules will not be ready before Jan. 1. Among other things, the new guidelines will establish a pool of doctors that companies can use to evaluate injuries and dictate care.
A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played a key role in negotiating the workers' compensation reform, said the pace of service to injured workers will quicken once the new system is in place with the medical guidelines.
The program protects employers from being sued for job-related injuries in exchange for swift treatment.
The cost of the insurance for employers has skyrocketed in recent years, jumping 150 percent between 2000 and 2003.
The changes agreed to by Schwarzenegger and the Legislature were supposed to reduce costs while still providing adequate care for workers. But so far, there are questions whether either goal is being attained.
Workers' compensation insurance rates have dropped an average of just 10.4 percent since the changes were enacted, according to the Department of Insurance.
Meanwhile, processing of cases has noticeably slowed since the overhaul became law. From April to September, administrative law judges granted delays for 91,101 cases, a 19.2 percent increase from the same period a year ago, according to statistics from the Department of Industrial Relations.
The biggest logjam was in June when 16,099 cases were continued, up 31.5 percent from a year ago.
Meanwhile, attorneys, insurers, judges and injured workers, such as West Sacramento resident Ricardo Castorena, can only wait.
Castorena, a truck driver who earned more than $60,000 a year, was seriously injured when he was hit by a forklift almost two years ago. But because the new disability law has not fully taken effect, he still receives a temporary benefit of only $728 a week.
"Everyday life is very difficult. I just want my life back. We're teetering on the brink," said Castorena, a father of four children ages 9 to 17.
bttt
Nice work if you can get it. A third of my employees don't make that and I'm sure it's tax free...
Shocks the hell out of me.
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