Eye Opening

Tuesday, April 3, 2012 | 0

Eye opening and transformative.

Thats how Angie Wei of the California Labor Federation described her visit to some hearings at the San Francisco and Oakland Workers Compensation Appeals Board.

Wei was among the speakers at a legislative hearing this week on the future of California workers comp.

Wei described the scene that so many workers comp claimants and judges know.

Crowded hallways of negotiating attorneys. Small courtrooms filled with overworked judges, waiting claimants and defense attorneys who appeared to be engaged in a strategy of delay.

Exhibiting passion that was in short supply during the legislative hearing, Wei described several cases she observed that led her to recommend that people go down and take a look for themselves to understand the system better.

I was thrilled to hear her testimony.

Frankly, the disconnect between policymakers and the real world of injured workers is often a wide gulf.

Im a bit of a wonk myself, else I would not be pounding these keys week in and week out for over half a decade, covering the workers comp scene.

But Ive often had the feeling that some of the policymakers, stakeholder advocates, and think-tank folks need to get a better grip by coming to the WCAB and meeting some claimants, lawyers and judges.

If nothing else, it might make them more cautious in advancing reforms that have repeatedly....reform after reform....led to unintended consequences.

I also liked Weis call that stakeholders consider that they may need to consider taking a haircut to deliver a package that will benefit workers.

Wei asked that providers ...."Defend what is defensible and walk away from what is indefensible because some of these expenses and the greed that is in the system is simply indefensible."

The key will be in identifying what is defensible and what is not, of course.

Wei, legislative director for the Cal Fed, produced a position paper on workers comp. Heres the link.