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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 5, 1992                   TAG: 9201060202
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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STATE'S WORKER COMPENSATION IS FAIR

I WAS QUITE concerned after reading your news article, "Workers' compensation criticized" (Dec. 20). In this piece, a newly formed "citizens" group alleged insurance companies and doctors abuse the compensation laws in several ways.

One woman complained that the insurance company "didn't want to pay" her claim. This accusation implies that insurance companies randomly deny coverage to "injured" employees.

Having worked in the industry, I know that no insurance company denies claims on a whim. They are grounded in available facts. The Virginia Workers' Compensation Act is among the fairest in the country. The law is very specific as to what is covered, and dispute resolution before the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission is an equitable recourse for all parties.

The allegation that carriers send claimants "miles away" to doctors who tell the carrier "what they want him to" is an insult to the medical profession. It is a convenient crutch to accuse doctors of tailoring their findings for the insurance company when an individual's "injuries" are not substantiated objectively.

These "citizens" want the Virginia compensation law to be health insurance for any and all discomforts they feel between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We should not let a small group of angry individuals paint the whole compensation system with their sweeping accusations. Ignorance of the law and its true intent is no excuse for attempts to discredit it. Virginians should devote their efforts to finding ways to work instead of trying to ride the compensation system. PETER REILLY ROANOKE

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