I keep reading about workers comp reform efforts at the state level but I don’t think anybody really understands the whole issue. They said they did not want to change the court system to an administrative system. The court system IS the problem.  When you have to go to court, look up and see a judge wearing a robe in a court setting and the insurance carrier has an attorney present, you naturally think you need an attorney. Why not make this a less formal setting, and have administrators set up in conference rooms, meet with the parties, settle claims and eliminate the court system?

Any reforms that are done will then be challenged in higher courts and many will be thrown out. Meanwhile we in Oklahoma sit here paying almost double what the folks in Arkansas pay for their workers comp insurance. We are higher than almost any state in our entire region and it’s not because of our benefit levels paid to workers.  We need real reform and real people to step forward and make the necessary changes that will stick.