Something MUST be done!

It seems that most talk of workers comp. and the failing system tends to only address financial issues and the need to level out the proffit/loss ratio for the insurers. I have found little attention being payed to the devistating effect on the lives of the real victims in this mess, the injured workers.South Australia's system is a pseudo "state run program" yet they answer only to their own board and private investors. Each year they argue in the parliament over ways to cut cost for the insurers as well as the employers, yet Workcover passes millions of dollars of benefits to medicos, its staff, lawyers, consultants and the board. Meanwhile, perfectly innocent people, suffering from work related injuries are left unknowing and unprotected by the very source from which they are supposed to be protected by. The idea is to provide necessary medical treatment and temporary financial assistance to injured workers. The suppossed goal is to provide adequate recouperative rehabilitation and lost wage compensation until such time that the injured worker is able to return to their position in the work force or, if unable to effectively regain full reinstatement to provide job retraining rehabilitation. The truth is quite different however. Any rehab counselor with the workers comp. system can tell you that the two most frequent complaints by injured workers seeking help are #1- it is beyond impossible to reach, let alone get answers from any claims agents. Quite simply, claimants are ignorred for as long as possible and treatment is delayed while financial assistance is withheld (sometimes for years) with no penalties to the insurers and no one watchdogging for misconduct. This practice forces desperate injured workers to obtain legal council which really only gets you the absolute bare minimum assistance. W.C lawyers have no motivation to expedite action from the insurers. Instead they are apathetic to the needs of clients and are careful to never "rock the boat" with the insurers. This brings up issue #2- claimants spend weeks or months trying in vane to contact their lawyers and their repeated attempts do nothing to garner even a simple return phone call or e-mail. So really, claimants are alone, even with legal assistance in their corner. W.C. lawyers make the same percentage of your claim whether your case settles in 6 months or in 6 years and they are hesitant to ruffle any feathers with insurers so that they can maintain agreeable terms of a working relationship. In effect - lawyers are buisness partners with the insurers, scratching each others back while the almighty dollar stays the focus and is more important than the injured worker. There are so many hands reaching into this pot that everyone is careful to never cause problems for the other hands for fear of loosing their grip on their tiny piece of the prize. All the while, if they are lucky, the injured worers are shuffled through, and forgotten by the system. Instead of proper and timely care and assistance, injured workers are faced with neverending beurocracy as they get forced into poverty, losing homes, destroying families and made destitute. Faced with these burdens, claimants are reduced to living in shame and suffering with no avenue to turn for protection. Where is the voice crying out for the injured? Is there ANY place to turn for shelter? Who stands up for the ethical treatment of these infirmed cast aways? Can't something be done to prevent the insurance agents from destroying so many lives in the hope that eventualy an injured worker will give up on their entitlement and save a few dollars for the insurers? Something MUST be done! please help me and others to be heard.

Posted by Jessica R at 5:15 PM, 3/6/2007

How can you expect anything to be done you simple person.
There is to much money at stake for us to even think about changing the system. Any changes we will make will only be to reduce your benefits so we can get a biger cut from the premiums. After all you do not think that Workcover was really set up to help injured workers?
If it was set up to hep injured workers parliament would not have given Workcover the power to redeem or not, to prosecute or not, to test injured workers claims in the tribunal regardless of whether they have a legitimate claim or not, the power to stop their wages regardless and no process to ensure that we are complying with the law, workcover was also given the ability to keep injured workers on rehabilitation programs that do nothing for them except put more money in the coffers of the businesses that have been set up to run them. After all as you know most of the rehab companies have been set up by ex workcover employees. Why would they want to work anywhere else for lesser money- they know who the best cash cow in the state is..thats Workcover.
Now why don't you just sit back and relax and let us look after your best interests, after all the more injured workers on the system the more money we can squander.

Bruce is right

The rehab providers,independent medical examiners, and a host of other people involved with the system actually side with the insurers, if they did not, they wouldn't get any work, its a reliable constant source of $$$$ for them.
I have actually had a rehab provider make up a blatantly false resume for me to go out job hunting with, the resume stated i was an experienced fitter and turner, capable of assembling industrial machinery, when all the experience i had was 6 month work as a fitting and turning apprentice some 30 odd yrs ago.
I lodged a complaint with the VWA to no avail, the VWA stated that they believed the rehab provider and sided with them, even my solicitor didnt want to know.

In the first half of the financial year, the VWA made a NET half year profit of around $650 million.
They have kicked me up the arse for 7 yrs trying to get me off the system,last year they finaly did it with the aid of a corrupt medical panel.
I had fronted the same doctors in that medical panel 3 times, and 3 times they agreed i was not fit for work, the fourth time, they turned on me and claimed my MRI scans show nothing of significance and that i had abnormal illness behavior (in another word, they called me a liar)
cheers
Colin

Unfortunately no one who is involved in this whole workcover shambles gives a shit about anyone, and the injured worker is just a pawn in their game of deceipt and lies. I have been in this god forsaken system for 4 years, and it as been 4 years of hell. Now my solicitor is advicing me to stay on weekly payment rather than pursue the common law payout for my injury, stated on my serious injury certificate. As most of you reading this forum know, that is basically a life sentence, and I am at a loss to understand why it could suggested. I thought this whole system was set up to help injured workers move forward with their lives, what a frickin JOKE!!!!!