Example of Supermans' "Workers Paradise"

[lendaddy]

I had an employee work for me for about a year then he had an "incident" where he bumped his hand. After that he started complaining of hand pain. Turns out he had VERY advanced arthritis in both hands. A doctor recommended surgery.He worked one handed duty for a couple weeks, then just stopped coming and sued me.

Here are the claims:

Plaintiff alleges disabilities as set forth in this petition for the Hearing and especially conditions related to the employees heart, chest, lungs, back, extremities, arthritis, hernia, neurosis and other such ailments caused or aggravated by harmful employment conditions and industrial accidents attributable to his employment.

(I somewhat paraphrased)

Now remember that this guy worked for me in light duty industrial labor for LESS than one year!





He agreed to settle for $40k, my lawyers and Comp carrier say we got off really cheap

Great system.....no really. Anyone wanna bet he'll take another light industrial job soon and do it all over again?

Yep, worker's paradise all right. We really need to change this system that favors employers and steps on the little guys throat.. Power to the people yo!!!1

[Superman]

Unattractive bait, Len. If you know some liberals who admire unfairness and laziness, this might work on them. Some say all liberals prefer laziness and unfairness. People who think don't say that, but many others do.

As I've said here many times, there is just not that much difference between most of us. We want the same things, really. And we argue about the details. The tactics. I've admired you Len, and I'm truly concerned about your business struggles these days. There are lots of guys here I would like to have a beer with, and you are in the small group that heads that list.

[Joeaksa]

Wish you could get someone to take some photos of the ex-employee on his days off at home, showing him working with his hands. Might influence the court case...

[Mike Bonkalski]

Have you considered having an ESH (Environment Safety and Health) consultant come in and review the facility to document conditions? This may give you the info you need to stand up to individuals looking for a workman's comp handout.

[lendaddy]

We've evaluated these routes and we even went down that road about 15 years ago (fighting till the end) and it's simply not worth it. We lost anyway AND we got to make some boat payments for our lawyers.

We were basically told that we had to prove his job here did not aggravate his arthritis. Not that I didn't cause it mind you....but that I didn't aggravate it (care to explain how I'd prove that negative). This is how the setup is structured, the employer is behind the eight ball from the get go.

Sup, I know you don't condone this crap, but it is the fruit of your labor if you know what I mean.

[lendaddy]

And specifically to the ESH consultant suggestion, the only reason bigger companies use those is to create some plausible deniability in eventual court cases, no one actually thinks they'll prevent this kind of stuff. Accidents can and will happen, employees can and will sue when they do. This guy got "hurt" on purpose, I'll guarandamntee it. No ESH consultant can prevent that.

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally posted by lendaddy

We were basically told that we had to prove his job here did not aggravate his arthritis. Not that I didn't cause it mind you....

Ask him if he masturbates. If he says yes, you should be off the hook.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by WolfeMacleod
Ask him if he masturbates. If he says yes, you should be off the hook.

This guy.........with forty large in his back pocket??? Naw he won't be needing manual stimulation anytime soon. The red light district will certainly see an uptick in business.

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally posted by lendaddy
This guy.........with forty large in his back pocket??? Naw he won't be needing manual stimulation anytime soon. The red light district woill certainly see an uptick in business.

Wel then, you should have him nailed. If he's claiming back, hernia, chest, lungs, arthritis, ...all those things can be greatly aggrivated by sex.

Not to mention putting himself at great risk for STD's. I'd have him watched, and closely.

[RickM]

Did you call his previous employers to see if he pulled the same crap? Did he list pre-existing health issues on his application?

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by RickM
Did you call his previous employers to see if he pulled the same crap? Did he list pre-existing health issues on his application?

No previous employer would reveal this info. Would you want to be on the hook for "actively attempting to prevent gainful employment"? His scumbag lawyer would salivate at the very idea. And I don't believe we are allowed to ask about pre-existing medical conditions. That would be discrimination.

[Moneyguy1]

Systems become more, not less, complex over time. What started as action to prevent worker abuse in the 1800s has "evolved" into what we have today. I doubt if the trend will ever be reversed and the system will collapse because of its own weight.

[Icemaster]

...and ambulance chasing lawyers that pocket 35% take no blame?

[Eric 951]

Find out where he lives and exact a comparable dollar amount in damage to his personal vehicle or dwelling--some call it childish and illegal, I call it "karma".

and yes, I am serious.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by Eric 951
Find out where he lives and exact a comparable dollar amount in damage to his personal vehicle or dwelling--some call it childish and illegal, I call it "karma".

and yes, I am serious.

I would never actually do that, but I do know some fellow businessmen that would never have let it get this far without giving said employee a "talking to" about how it was not in his best interest to sue them. I'm not kidding either, which once again makes me wonder if only as55holes and hardasses should run businesses. Maybe I can take an online course

[Mike Bonkalski]

What if you write position descriptions that indicate the physical requirements of each position. That way you can ask if the individual has any pre-existing conditions that may preclude him/her from doing the work as described.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by Mike Bonkalski
What if you write position descriptions that indicate the physical requirements of each position. That way you can ask if the individual has any pre-existing conditions that may preclude him/her from doing the work as described.

I'm a tiny company, my guys usually do dozens of different jobs every month. I wish I could be more specific in many aspects of my business, but it just doesn't lend itself to it.

[Superman]

Originally posted by lendaddy
Sup, I know you don't condone this crap, but it is the fruit of your labor if you know what I mean.

Yes I am a labor relations guy and yes, I tend to fall on the side of the working men and women. OTOH, the Labor community I work with would ostracize an opportunist like this one just as quickly as the business community.

There is a movement, and a reasonable one from many social and economics perspectives, to make sure that the prices of manufactured products include and contain all the costs associated with the mfg of that product. No more taxpayer money cleaning up the environment or repairing human bodies injured in the mfg process. I would not agree that the story you told here is an example of that, but that is the lofty principle behind injured worker compensation. And yes, I support the principle, but not the abuses. The alternative is that employers are not held responsible. The judgement of fairness between these two competing interests is unavoidable. And perhaps these judgements have routinely been unfair to employers in recent times. Or at least, they seem to allow for substantial abuse these days. Again, I have a hard time supporting that.

Again, I would say these judgements, of fairness between employers are employees, are not avoidable unless you promote a fairly lawless society where people and companies are not held responsible for their actions. So, its a balance. It's a difficult balance to strike but one that must be struck.

Unless you're ignorant enough to pretend with a straight face that it's all gubmit's fault and it's really simple.

Bottom line is it sounds like you got bent over. Again. And even though we seem to disagree on some stuff, I'm in your camp with pretty much all the stories you have told here.

[RickM]

Originally posted by lendaddy
No previous employer would reveal this info. Would you want to be on the hook for "actively attempting to prevent gainful employment"? His scumbag lawyer would salivate at the very idea. And I don't believe we are allowed to ask about pre-existing medical conditions. That would be discrimination.

So why do people provide references? Wouldn't a background check uncover the scumbags?

I wasn't sure about the pre existing medical condition question. If an armless man applys for the job and doesn't get it can he sue?

[dhoward]

People can't provide "references" anymore.
"Yes, Mr. Dikhead worked here from January to March."
That's all we can say.
And actually they (legal) want us to start referring to a toll-free number to verify employment dates.