The voice of labor. (Cumberland, Md.) 1938-1942, 1940-09-26

went 10 the claimants In Mary
land. whereas. In North Dakota.
an exclusive State Fund State.
ninety-three cents Of the en-
pioycr's premium dollar went to
the claimants.
PROTECTS WORKERS
An exclusive state fund is need
ed in the interest Of the worker.
Grave abuses are practiced against
employees under the present COM
pctitive State Fund BY certain I'M
scrupulous elf-insurerS and pri-
vate insurers who are subvertirg
the very purposes Of the Work
mems Compensation Law. There
are many workers who. though In.
jured on the job. do not file claims
for fear Of loss Of their jobs. This
Is particularly true where the en-
ployer is n seif.insurer. In the lat
ter case. an employe who has a
deserving claim for injuries sus-
tanned on the job. frequently
finds his claim opposed by an in
dignant and irate employer.
The Observation-Disclosures Is
DESTROYS Of making profits in his
business and II Is natural that
he should try 10 defeat or mini.
mice the claims OF his employees
whose compensation must be
paid directly out Of the employ
er's pocket. The consequence Is
that the worker may win the
case but ne will lose his job. II
does not take long for the other
employees 10 learn the fate Of
the claimant. And jobs are too
scarce 90 risk the anger of the
employer. so many injuries go
unclaimed.
II is not an uncommon prac-
ticc either for certain employer
self insurers TO discharge an IN
jured employee who has not filed a
claim. shortly after the one year
statute Of limitations has run
against such employe. Such sell
insurers retain the injured en-
ploye only long enough to bar re-
covery Of compensation. although
they know that the employc has
ignored his rights to compensation
In the hope that his employers
would compensate him by furnish
ing him security in his job.
Some employers. particularly
self insurers. will seize upon the
claim Of n worker who has suffered
one OF the lesser permanent i'll
juyies lie. some loss Of use Of
body due TO back injury to dis
charge the employe. Not a 100
per cent man. is tine usual ex'
PLANTATION. The consequence is
that the worker Is cOerccd intO
the anomalous position of r;!ni.
miziag his own injury in order to
save his job.
There are private insurers who
allow their zeal fer profits to blind
their obligations under the Act
Such pressure is put on the in
vestigato:s and cdjrstcrs to keep
payments down. that many injur-
les ere net properly compensated
The keen cor:pcti !cn arionG TIC
private insurers makes II almost
mandatory on the invo .iG2t0:s
and adjuStars TO exploit a claim.
ant whenever possible.
FOR CARRIERS
The ma ;ority Of the survey
co=l-:i,t.e s,.ov's a marked &C.,
L.. nd. for the insurance c:r.
r..rs, who. |: dec;c sec. are o.:cn
cheated by interruptions doctors
testify.Eg falsely in favor Of
claimants. In poin: Of fact. the
carriers are always ready with
medical advice and do not stint
20 belittle injuries through the
testimony Of high powered" IL
not ito use the expression of the
ma jority report) consciously
untruthful" doctors. II would
appear that the solicitude should
be shown for the claimants who
are often nc the mercy Of com.
pany doctors" and insurance
doctors"
Such reprehensible practices q:
have just been outlined would dis
appear for the most part II there
were an exclusive State Fund
properly administered. The pres
sure to serve "the mighty dollar
at the expense Of the casualties
of industry would be absent. and
a better day for the workers un'
der the Act would be inevitable
Such has been the experience ir
the States which now have an eX
elusive State Fund. And contrary
to the opinion expressed by the
majority Of the Survey Commit
tee. these states have demon
strated that such a fund can be
operated efficiently and economi'
cally. This Is another instance In
which the Act should be changed
to keep pace with our times.