New workers’ compensation laws have passed the Senate in Tennessee by a vote of 28–2. The vote was on April 1, 2013. Sadly, this was not an April Fool’s joke. The legislation itself is the joke. And a bad one. If you are a working Tennessean…the joke’s on you.
Changes to Tennessee workers’ compensation law
Among other things, this new law takes workers’ compensation cases out of the court system in Tennessee. Injured workers will no longer be able to have their compensation claims heard by an impartial judge in a court of law. Instead the claims will be heard by specially appointed “judges.” These “judges” will be chosen by whomever the politicians select to run the workers’ compensation department.
The new law doesn’t benefit workers
The whole point of this new law is to stack the deck in favor of big business and big insurance and against workers. Now workers’ compensation claims are ultimately decided by judges elected by the people. These judges are, for the most part, fair and impartial. And big business and big insurance absolutely hate that. Make no mistake. Big business and big insurance do NOT want fairness and impartiality. They do not want a level playing field. They want the game to be rigged in their favor. And that’s exactly what they’re going to get.
You have to laugh at some of these hypocrites in Nashville who talk about smaller government. Yeah, right. Smaller government is great as long as it serves their masters – big business and big insurance. This new law is adding a new administrative branch to Tennessee government. An entire new governmental bureaucracy. The court system was working perfectly well. Except for being fair. At least, that’s the humble opinion of this Knoxville personal injury lawyer.
You might want to ask your local legislator to explain why this new law is a good thing for anyone other than big business and big insurance. Ask why it is a good thing for the working men and women trying to pay their bills and support their families. Don’t expect a straight answer.