There is a myth that the Missouri Worker’s Compensation system is a liberal, give-a-way system which is laden with all kinds gratuitous perks for anyone who happens to be” lucky enough” to strain their back a little after a hard days work. The image that insurance companies have created is that of lazy employees being coddled by doctors until eventually they are served up with  “pot of gold” settlements on the backs of struggling bussinesses and honest insurance companies. It is clear that no industry  in this country does a better job of promoting their propaganda than insurance companies. Do we really believe that  adjusters are out there handing  checks to  homeowners just before a tornado is ready to hit their homes. These are the same adjusters who won’t return my phone calls for three weeks when my client’s comp check is late. These companies  would have us believe that we need to drastically limit work comp benifits  to those who end up in wheelchairs, but will defend twenty-five million dollar executive bonuses because “we need to provide incentives to retain good people”. The gap between myth and reality us especially clear in the Missouri Work Comp system. For example , an insurance adjuster gets to pick your doctor with no say-so whatsoever on your part!  If the adjuster doesn’t like the doctors’s opinion, then he can choose another doctor. However, if you question the doctors opinion, be aware that you are not legally entitled to  a second opinion. In addition, when it comes to scheduling appointments, the adjuster can choose to set up a time when you will   miss work. The best part is that you won’t get paid for it!  You may be able to use your own vacation time or personal time, but you will have no control over that either! If you have a twenty-five year old chid, for example, who has no wife or children and they are killed on the job because of company negligence, you will not, with few exceptions, be able to bring a civil suit against the company. Furthermore, under the Work Comp Law , you will be given burial expenses and well- thats about it!  Under the new law , almost everyone over thirty-five years of age will hear that their back injury should be discounted due to natural “degeneration”, even if the injured worker never sought any treatment before or ever had any complaints. In criminal cases, people are presumed innocent until proven guilty.Not necessarily in work comp. In fact, some work comp judges will discount what  injured workers say based on the sole reasoning that  workers have an “incentive” to exaggerate. Meanwhile, the motives of  doctors who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars of bussiness every year  is overlooked. In addition, all of the Legal Advisor positions have now been eliminated and judges are prevented from telling claimants when they getting an unfair settlements. Despite the great number of  things which are tilted against the injured worker , the propaganda machine just keeps rolling and we are told that “something needs to be done” to protect us from  injured workers who get their own attorney. Obviously, what a terrible thing it is when an adjuster can’t keep and injured worker in the dark and then simply steamroll them!  �Submitted by Jeff Swaney  FREE CONSULTATION 314-481-7778

Tags: Missouri Workers' Compensation, St. Louis work comp attorney, St. Louis work comp lawyer

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 12:04 am and is filed under Occupational Disease, Total Disability Claims, Uncategorized, Work Injuries, Worker's Comp. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.