Denying workmans comp claims?

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over9five

Guest
Two recent on the job injuries in my center. One, a back injury on the road on a Friday afternoon so bad the driver couldnt finish his route. Two, a hernia. Both claims denied by our company.
Is this a new direction our company is taking? Makes you want to gag, doesnt it?
The back injury has already been settled, the hernia is in litigation now.
 
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upsdude

Guest
Dont be so quick to blame UPS. What are the Comp laws in your State? In Virginia, back injuries and hernias are both heavily scrutinized. If the Back Injury or Hernia cant be specifically tied to a particular act, youre not going to receive any benefits.

example: While lifting a package estimated to weigh X lbs addressed to Michael Eskew, 123 UPS Drive, Atlanta, Ga. I felt pain in my

Returning to the center at days end and saying I must have done something to my back today will leave you out in the cold. Most States have similar laws that limit what a company can cover as Workers Comp. As an Attorney told me, the law considers our backs as wearable items that will fail under what is considered normal use, not just working conditions.
 
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workinman

Guest
How could ups POSSIBLY get out of paying for the herniya operation of any of its drivers? Thats not only a crime but obsurd! Should go with the territory of uping the weight like they did AFTER the last contract was radified! How typical......
 
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tieguy

Guest
Yep , this kind of stuff gets bandied around too much. State laws will protect those legitimately hurt at work.
 
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ok2bclever

Guest
I don't know the specifics of the stated case, but it is not that hard to get a hernia off the job such as through playing sports. If you try to limp in and claim work related, good luck!

Dude has it right though, you better be able to pinpoint the injury exactly to a specific instant or cause to win a comp case.

"State laws will protect you" is naive as hell.
 
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tieguy

Guest
Funny you slammed me and basically said the same thing I was saying.
 
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over9five

Guest
"it is not that hard to get a hernia off the job such as through playing sports. "

Im sure management said the same thing. Thankfully, a court is more likely to laugh at UPS...."This man lifts 150 lb boxes all day, and your suggesting he got that hernia playing badminton" ???

Which is why, IMO, the UPS lawyer called to settle the morning of the court date.
 
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ok2bclever

Guest
You are too sensitive, I was not slamming you. Don't be so defensive. When I refer to you as company I am not referring to an evil empire.
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The company performs a service and pays my wage. We just don't always see eye to eye and when the union hierarchy gets defended by the company it makes me nervous.
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I was just stating you obviously have never had first hand experience with state laws involving workman's comp with a company of no integrity.

UPS in general does have integrity and if you can show that the injury was definately caused by work they will not fight it.

Not all companies are so upstanding and when they are not the best you will usually get is a couple of years (with no money coming in while you wait) of court system B.S. with less than a fifty percent chance of it settling in your favor. In some states it is less than twenty percent.

And yep, there are malingerers out there also, some that get away with it. Life ain't fair in either direction.

Drivers don't lift 150 pounds all day. Most don't see more than one or two above 70 in their day and if they are stupid enough not to enforce the contract and injure themselves lifting over 70 without help, they have no one but themselves to blame.

Most drivers wouldn't name badminton as their sport of choice. I would be careful who I admitted that to.
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Those that play football, basketball, softball,etc get hernias. You have obviously never been in court. They never laugh. Only the company lawyers do and they do it discretely.

(Message edited by ok2bclever on October 08, 2002)
 
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