The Cost of Worker’s Compensation
There are some hidden costs to government that are hidden in plain sight. One of these costs is the amount we pay in settlements for various lawsuits.
Some settlements are easy to figure out. We know why the City of Fullerton paid the family of Kelly Thomas close to 6 Million dollars. When somebody goes after the city for work related issues, however, it is much less clear what we’re paying for or why we’re paying.
What we do know is how much we’ve paid. Here’s the total we’ve paid from 2010-2016 in Worker’s Compensation Settlements.
Owing to privacy laws we can’t know who got what and why so be certain that there are shenanigans going on with some of these payouts.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Total | |
| 626,566.15 | 280,603.92 | 351,040.96 | 476,534.54 | 575,798.79 | 147,178.62 | 493,533.50 | 2,951,256.48 |
That’s the thing about government. No matter how much you think it’s costing you, it’s always costing you and your children more.
I’d like to see a per employee comparison with the private sector.
I’d also like to see a comparison between “public safety” and regular employees.
No I wouldn’t. I just ate.
You would not want to see that comparison; public safety employees are rarely put on “light duty/modified” assignment after an injury. A firefighter broke his leg skiing; he was off work completely for weeks. A broken leg doesn’t preclude someone from doing desk duty. A friend had a broken leg and went to work every day for weeks; got a ride, used a knee chair to get around. Some public safety employees injured on duty get a free ride for weeks because of the attorneys they have. “Officer so-and-so is still having severe pain” – why then does that officer go to Glamis?
This reminds me of the time when Don Bankhead fell out of a chair and claimed total disability. What a fraud.
https://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2011/fall-out-of-a-chair-get-a-tax-break-bankhead-discovers-chiefs-disease/
And don’t forget poor Mike Sellers, who had so much stwess.
Workers Comp. cases were enacted as a no fault solution so employees would not sue employers. It’s the same for public and private employees. The carve outs are for safety emploees for specific injuries and illness. The main cost factor is if there is a future medical requirements. The employee can waive future medical and get a lump sum which usually will not cover future medicinal treatments especially in orthopedic injuries.
The Presumptives are the biggest problem. Well, that and the dubious nature of many claims just like in disability.
Yeah, I bet “public safety” disability payouts dwarfs workers comp.
working in the heart of the smoggy apple, downtown Los Angeles , the latest scam
is those who don’t care to strive sign up with AFLAC , an insurance company that pays people when they cant work due to illness or injury so,they may double dip. From my numerous observations, shortly after getting AFLAC these same people unexplicably began to fall down while endeavouring in their menial jobs. Workman’s comp plus AFLAC keeps the cruise lines in business.
inexplicably