Why Does Workers’ Compensation Law Suck So Bad in Tennessee?

This is a terrible topic to discuss, because we fought against these changes so hard for so long; we could just not get people to listen. Back in the 2013 legislative session, the Governor of Tennessee introduced a workers’ compensation reformation bill, which just totally gutted the system and screwed the Tennessee worker. I fought against this, along with some other trial lawyers in Tennessee. I testified against this bill and told the House Consumer Affairs Committee all the things that this would do to the people of Tennessee. To watch that video, go to our website. At the video section, pick the “Rocky’s Legislative Testimony” videos. There you can see the details of what’s the problem with that bill.

Basically, what happened is the legislature passed, strictly along party lines; all Republicans supported the Republican Governor. No Democrat supported the bill. It was a bill intended to help big business, to benefit insurance companies, and to reduce payments to workers. That’s the three intentions of the bill, and that’s what the bill did. It took away the right of the worker to go to court to enforce his rights. It gave the doctors chosen by the insurance company more power to determine if the worker could go back to work or not. It also revamped the system of how benefits are determined. And in almost every case, reduced by 60-70% the amount that the workers were paid.

Now, when hardworking Tennesseans are injured on the job, when the most precious commodity they had – their ability to work, that which gives us pride and purpose – is taken, there’s nowhere to turn. You can turn to a paltry system that gives you a load of crap for your injury, instead of what we had before. And it’s all directly responsible from our legislature.

So, ladies and gentlemen, when you’re told what you’re going to get for your worker’s compensation case, don’t get mad at your lawyer. You get mad at your Republican Legislature. You call ‘em and you tell ‘em what a crappy job they did for you. If you need help finding who your legislature is, if you want to call, just reach out to our office and we’ll give you that information.

If you’ve been hurt at work and you need help, reach out to us and we’ll do the best we can for you. No law firm in Tennessee has done more for workers or stood behind workers more than we have. We’re at 615.425.2500 or RockyLawFirm.com. Come see us in Nashville, Hendersonville or Knoxville, and let our Gladiators in Suits get to work for you.