Paduda: Work Comp and Mass Shootings

Monday, July 17, 2023 | 0

Kudos to Texas’ Department of Workers’ Compensation for highlighting workplace mass shootings in a just-concluded annual conference. The presentation is here.

Joe Paduda

The Lone Star state is all too familiar with these awful events. Among the more recent saw 23 killed and 22 others injured when a racist gunman opened fire in a Walmart store in El Paso.

It isn’t just Texas; we’ve had more than one mass shooting every day during the first three months of this year, with more than 600 victims.

California’s State Fund insured the Borderline Bar & Grill back in 2018. State Fund’s handling of the awful situation provides a blueprint for all insurers, and you would be well-advised to study up on that.

Compassion, creative engagement, empathy and doing the right thing no matter what was the basis of the State Fund’s response.

Until some measure of sanity emerges from Congress, the work comp industry will have to rely on improving the way it handles these disasters.

What does this mean for you?

Once again, work comp is left to handle society’s failings.

Joseph Paduda is co-owner of CompPharma, a consulting firm focused on improving pharmacy programs in workers’ compensation. This column is republished with his permission from his Managed Care Matters blog.