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| Thursday December 23, 2004 |
| Contact: Steve Hopcraft
916-457-5546 |
| Jon Akana 916-712-4213 |
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| Governor Drops Lump of
Coal In Injured Workers' Stocking: Drastic Cuts In Disability Compensation
Rolls Back Most Benefits to Lower Than 1983 Levels |
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SACRAMENTO - Gov. Schwarzenegger left behind a lump of coal for California's injured workers today as he flew off to his mountaintop retreat for a long vacation. The Schwarzenegger Administration filed its new permanent partial disability compensation schedule with the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), and the reduced benefits are to take effect on January 1. "The governor's new schedule severely reduces permanent disability benefits to injured workers," said California Applicants' Attorneys Association (CAAA) President David Schwartz. "The Administration has refused to follow the statute and the Legislature's intent." Schwartz said that the new cuts set permanent disability levels "lower than they were in 1983."
The reductions in benefits were documented in the only scientific study of the new schedule. Conducted by University of California at Davis Professor Dr. J. Paul Leigh, the study of 218 back, shoulder, wrist and knee injuries found that under the governor's proposed disability schedule, on average injured workers would receive a disability rating that is 28 points lower than before the governor's changes. Schwartz said that injured workers will receive, on average, just "30% of the compensation they currently receive."
The study shows that the Governor's proposal to cut permanent disability ratings will drastically reduce the compensation injured workers receive.
"The governor has broken his promise not to reduce the already-meager benefits to injured workers," said Schwartz. "For those who work hard and are injured serving California, this is a devastating blow. It means that more injured workers will lose their homes, their cars and their hope, because they won't be able to survive on these pitiful disability benefits."
Here are some examples of injured workers who would be harmed by the governor's proposal:
A carpenter with an injury to both shoulders who cannot lift his arms, or work, above the shoulder, would be rated 46% disabled and receive $51,550 presently. That same injured carpenter would be rated just 18% disabled and receive only $16,050 under the Administration's plan. In 1983, this same injured worker would have received $28,000 (equal to $52,532 in 2004 dollars), significantly more than under the Administration's proposal.
A warehouseman with a leg injury that requires amputation just below the knee, and gets an artificial leg, would receive $62,000 under the present schedule. Under the governor's proposal, he would receive just $36,000. (In 1983, this same injured worker would have received $34,000, which is worth $64,150 in 2004 dollars. [Consumer Price Index Conversion Factor])
"The proposed new rating schedule will result in a tremendous reduction in permanent disability benefits for injured workers," said Schwartz. "These new ratings will not provide fair or adequate benefits for injured workers."
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| For More Information Please
Contact: |
| Steve Hopcraft 916-457-5546
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| Jon Akana 916-712-4213 |
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