Calvin Fitzgerald won his appeal of a Wyoming workers' compensation decision. Twice.

The first favorable decision came 14 months after he reported the injury. After his employer appealed, Fitzgerald had to wait another 10 months for a decision.

By then, he had been through many canceled court dates, two back surgeries because of a fall at work and a two-and-a-half-year fight with workers' compensation.

Fitzgerald said he and his wife feared losing their home in Gillette and their cars. They racked up a $35,000 credit card debt.

"I understand there needs to be an appeals process, but it shouldn't take six to seven months just to get a court date," said Fitzgerald, who just had a third back surgery a month ago.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, said the Legislature might be able to budget more for the Workers' Compensation Division so it can hire more people to review contested cases.

"People need to get decisions on contested cases sooner," Scott said.

He and other members of the Joint Interim Labor, Health and Human Services Committee discussed solutions Monday to the problem and others regarding Wyoming's workers' compensation system.

Meeting in Casper, the committee heard from agency officials, employers and injured workers.

More than a dozen injured workers shared their stories of getting hurt at work and spending months - and even years - fighting over claims.

Some workers cried, while others screamed. Some, including Fitzgerald, laughed at the committee.

"I don't envy you and the job you have ahead of you," Fitzgerald said.

Looking at reform for workers' compensation became the interim committee's job after the 2008 Legislature made a list of topics of interest.

"The division of workers' compensation rose to the top," said Gary Child, director of the Wyoming Department of Employment.

A lot of the laws addressing workers' compensation haven't been updated for several years, Child said. He said the committee should examine whether benefits are equitable compared with other states, especially dealing with mental health benefits.

About 1,000 of the 16,000 cases the division handles every year are contested, and somewhere between 35 and 40 percent are overturned, representatives said.

That's about 400 cases a year, many in favor of injured workers.

The average contested case took about eight months to decide.

"In the meantime, their family has been devastated," said Dan Neal, director of the Equality State Policy Center, which is pushing to reform the program.

Since 1984, Sherry Walter of Buffalo has been in a constant battle with workers' compensation. Walter injured her back in a mining accident.

She settled with workers' compensation in 1992 when the division agreed to pay all related medical bills, past and future.

Several years later, workers' compensation stopped paying for her prescriptions, and she had to settle with the division in court again.

In February, Walter had her seventh back surgery.

"I thought I was going to make it through," Walter said. "I hadn't heard from them two months after the surgery."

Then in one day, she received 21 letters denying her claim for the latest back surgery.

"I don't want to fight," Walter said. "I want them to do what they said when they settled."

Neal also said the Legislature should take a look at the benefits for families of employees who die while working.

"There is consensus on the committee that death benefits are too low," Scott said. "It's been 14 to 15 years since the last big reform."

Scott said the committee wants to hear from all sides before it decides to move forward with any proposals. The panel continues its two-day meeting today.

Lynn Birleffi, executive director of the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association, wants the committee to look at ways to lower premiums employers pay for workers' compensation.

Dr. Steve Orcutt, an orthopaedist, wants the committee to look at reimbursements for physicians.

He said about 20 percent of his patients are workers' compensation patients. In 2007, he and his colleagues at Casper Orthopaedics wrote off $675,000 in workers' compensation claims.

"This wasn't for denied claims," Orcutt said. "This was the difference between what we charge and what workers' comp pays. If more isn't put into the providers, less are going to be taking workers' comp, and it's really going to be an access-to-care issue."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.

* Last we knew: Advocacy groups are calling for changes in Wyoming's workers' compensation program.

* The latest: A legislative committee heard testimony on the issue Monday.

* What's next: The panel will decide whether to sponsor legislation aimed at changing the workers' comp system.]]->