Yet Another Reason to Privatize Ohio’s Workers’ Comp System

Injured employees sue to double-dip, the state Supreme Court lets them, and lawyers get a big payday:

Ohio ordered to pay $52M in workers’ comp
Thursday, July 20, 2006 12:05 a.m. ET
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation agreed Wednesday to drop its appeal and pay $52 million awarded to injured state employees in a class-action lawsuit.

The bureau had argued that state laws prevented workers from being paid twice _ once by the state and once by insurance companies _ for the same injury. But the state Supreme Court said the laws were unconstitutional.

About 7,900 workers, who were forced to return their compensation from the state insurance fund, will get back 70 percent under the payment process approved by Judge Michael Donnelly of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday. The remaining 30 percent will be paid to attorneys and an administrator hired to distribute the money.

The bureau’s decision to pay is a victory for thousands of workers who “will see a return of their funds that had been unlawfully collected,” said lead attorney Craig Bashein.

William Mabe, the bureau’s new administrator, decided that appealing the ruling was not appropriate given the agency’s attempts to rebuild trust following an investment scandal that rocked the agency.

Let’s see:

• The lawyers get $15.6 million.
• The 7,900 workers split $36.4 million, or about $4,600 each, even though from all indications their claims were already paid by insurance companies for their injuries.
• Every other man, woman, and child in the Buckeye State is out about 5 bucks.

Privatizing workers’ comp would mean that there is only the insurance company to deal with and no ability to double-dip. I hope Ken Blackwell means it when he says it’s high on his priority list.