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Worker’s comp gets a shock |
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Can you believe
the luck? Just as I was about to write a column on never getting any
benefits from the thousands I pay in worker’s compensation insurance
every year, one of my employees goes and almost gets herself electrocuted
on the job.
In the 12 years I’ve had my own
business. I have paid well over $200,000 in worker’s compensation
insurance premiums. During that time, only one employee filed and
collected on a claim. It was for a doctor’s visit and amounted to $74.
So I was all charged up to do a
scathing attack on the system when I got the news about Carla, one of my
employees, who was suddenly much more energized than me.
The call was from Lisa, the manager of the
store where Carla was working. Apparently, the main "plug" for
our computer system was not pushed all the way into the outlet, leaving
exposed metal.
Carla, who likes jewelry, inadvertently
let one of her bracelets dangle onto the prongs of the plug, creating true
retail entertainment. The whole store, including Carla, lit up.
"Is everyone all right?" I
asked, wisely suppressing an urge to ask about the computer system as
well.
"Carla got a pretty bad
shock," replied Lisa. "Her bracelet turned black. She wants to
go home."
"Definitely send her home," I
said, genuinely concerned. "How does she feel?"
"Mostly scared, I think. She says
she feels tingly all over. Oh, and by the way, she blew up the computer
system."
Great. I felt a strong sense of
foreboding. The computers would cost thousands to replace and I had an
employee who was a walking light bulb. The only saving grace was that her
injury didn’t sound too serious.
Little did I know? It turns out Carla
didn’t go home, but straight to the hospital. Her tingles had turned
into rumbles.
We sent flowers, morbid as it sounds,
and I called her that evening in the hospital.
"How are you feeling?" I
asked, hoping for an upbeat answer.
Her voice was weak and distant, not the cheery
sing-song I had remembered. "Not so good."
"Are you getting better?"
"Not really," she replied. "My
arms are numb, I have had headaches and my eyes are bulging out of my
head. The doctor said the electricity has to get out of my body and it’s
being released through my eyes. I can’t see very well."
This was not good. "What’s the
prognosis?"
"I don’t know."
Alarm bells were ringing everywhere.
Lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit. Man all defenses. Legal trouble ahead. Carla
possibly looking for free ride. Prepare to abandon ship.
I called Hans, my insurance agent, the
next morning and told him the story.
"Relax, you have nothing to worry
about," he said after I finished. "Worker’s compensation is a
sole remedy. It’s basically no-fault insurance. Technically, you can’t
be sued by an employee who was injured on the job. That’s why worker’s
comp was established."
Hallelujah. Relinquish battle stations.
Discard life jackets. Catastrophe diverted.
Two hundred thousands dollars in worker’s
comp insurance premium, well spent, at least for this week.
Meanwhile, Carla had gone home. I
called her the following day, still deeply concerned about her well-being,
but naturally feeling more confident about my position.
She still had blurred vision,
headaches, numbness and bulging eyes.
"Any better?" I asked.
"No"
I didn’t know what to think. Was she
truly suffering? Probably. Was she exaggerating? Maybe.
She filed her claim with our worker’s
comp carrier, and they called me for details. If I was suspicious, they
were downright cynical. They’d seen and heard it all over the years.
They seemed to think Carla would feel better very soon.
And they were right. Carla was back at
work within two weeks, feeling fine. Worker’s comp paid all her medical
bills and two-thirds of her lost wages. I paid her the other third.
The blown-out computers did not fare as
well. They were also covered under a no-fault policy. Nobody would take
the fault, so I paid.
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