Conflict and confusion To assess how claims are handled, The Press Democrat conducted the first-ever media analysis of state computer data, analyzing 26,400 North Coast workers compensation claims covering six years, as well as another 77,800 cases in central and southern California at the Santa Barbara and Long Beach appeals boards. It found that conflict and confusion are imbedded in a system that is taking longer to resolve disputed cases every year, while the number of disputed claims is increasing faster than the growth in the work force. One out of five injured workers will spend almost three years struggling with claims adjusters and doctors and lawyers to get the benefits they are guaranteed by law. And it makes everyone unhappy. Worker's comp in California is an equal-opportunity headache.
Employers worry about costs.
They resent workers who take advantage of the system. They resent insurance companies that make generous profits. They wonder how they can possibly compete with companies from other states and nations where workers compensation is cheaper. They chafe under a mountain of often-conflicting regulations piled on them by state legislators. Doctors and other medical professionals resent claims adjusters who second-guess their treatment recommendations.