Nonny, on Aug 22 2004, 01:12 PM, said:
When did I say "a few" anecdotes? There are thousands upon thousands of people who are not contributing to the statistical data because the data collectors are not including them. Anecdotal evidence puts faces on human misery that the bean counters don't want to see, and puts flesh on the stories that make the stereotype of the workers comp ripoff artist a lie.
So how can I show you something more substantial when you won't consider anecdotal evidence and when so much of the story is only available by anecdotal evidence?
Adding a thug like Ahnuld to the mix is not helping anybody who needs help.
And while people like you stand back waiting for empirical proof that nobody's ever going to gather, people in desperate need will be suffering even more.
You "know of stories"? Well, I know actual people who are trapped in Workers Comp hell.
Those stories that you "know of" BTW, aren't they anecdotal? Can you cite them? Can you quote statistics on them? Do you accept anecdotal evidence when it supports your pov and not when it doesn't?
Nonny
Well, you didn't say just how many anecdotes you have. If you have thousands, then I imagine you must spend a great deal of time collecting them.
I never said I wouldn't consider anecdotal evidence, I said that anecdotes by themselves don't create the whole story. Anecdotes in concert with statistical data make for the strongest cases.
As for the story I cited:
1) It came from an episode of the Montel Williams show. Montel was interviewing private investigators and showing video footage of their investigations. One investigator was doing surveillance on the guy who was collecting workman's comp from his earlier job while working for another roofer. The video showed this guy hammering on a roof, slipping and falling off the roof.
2) Where did I use that to bolster any other point than to say that there are all different kinds of stories about workman's comp?
3) I also know a guy who experienced workman's comp hell. He hurt his shoulder working as a tow truck driver. Rather than put him in for surgery, the workman's comp doctor had him rehab the shoulder, which ultimatly proved ineffective.
What do the stories I've heard tell me? They tell me that there are people who screw the system, and there are people who get screwed by the system. To what degree either happens, I do not know.
But the whole crux of this thing is that you were certain that the way workman's comp was restructured screws the screwed. All I want is for you (or anyone else) to point to the language of the law and say, "because it says this here, such-and-so will happen." Even better, show me the language of the law, and I will read it for myself and make up my own mind.