She wound up on welfare, living in a homeless shelter. AIDE is one of dozens of small groups materializing around the country to fight reforms that unions say are destructing workers' comp at the expense of the workers it is supposed to protect. That tab represents a tripling of benefits since 1980, driven in part by rising premiums and medical bills, more complicated injuries such as repetitive stress, and the maze of insurers, lawyers, HMOs and others that must be navigated before claims are paid. From their point of view, reforms rein in costs by limiting excessive legal fees and benefits, defining disabilities more strictly and establishing state insurance funds, safety programs and administrative appeals adds the number of court cases. According to the Workers Copnsain Research Institute, a nonprofit organization in Cambridge, Mass., costs and claims have dropped in almost every reform state.
Labor groups say the answer is a resounding no.
Take Connie Rodriguez. But with lump-sum settlements now prohibited, lawyers are reluctant to represent compensation claimants. She was also affected by the state's adoption of strict American Medical Association formula for evaluating injury. It assesses total body impairment and awards benefits based on the overall percentage of disability. Critics say the formula fails to take into account what kind of work claimants performed before injury.