Research conducted by past and present graduate students, under the direction of a public administration faculty member, as well as actual case studies submitted by various municipalities, has identified several areas which should be of concern to public employees and employers alike. One problem is that injured workers often receive only a portion of the money awarded to them. Much of the award is taken by lawyers and expert witnesses. Currently, the decision of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation doctor is not final in estimating the degree of physical impairment. This results in an adversarial situation that pits lawyers and expert witnesses against the Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
Any cash benefit a worker is to receive is diminished by legal fees.
Now more specialists become involved in still more hearings further diminishing any cash award. Awards should be based on medical impairment only, using standard objective guidelines. Another area of concern is that once claims are opened they are seldom closed. According to the Citizens for Responsible Workers' Compensation Reform, there were 340,000 new claims opened in 1994 and only 516 closed. These never-ending claims expose employers to millions of dollars of potential liability.