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TO: Claims Review Committee Fran B. Adams, Chairman Carolyn K. Eggert, Vice Chairman Richard N. Bird Kenneth R. Macht John W. Tippin THRU: James E. Chandler, County Administrator FROM: Beth Jordan, Risk Manager DATE: 5 November 1996 SUBJECT: Proposed Mediation Settlement; Gerald R. Schuckers 600K 099 PAGE 851 B On Thursday, November 14, 1996, members of the Board of County Commissioners, as the Claims Review Committee, will meet in closed session at 10 a.m. to review the proposed mediated settlement with Gerald R. Schuckers, a Utilities Services employee. A court reporter will be present to record the meeting. Background On May 12, 1995, Mr. Schuckers was laying concrete blocks at the West Regional Wastewater Plant when he injured his back. Through workers' compensation, he was treated by numerous physicians and other licensed health care providers locally, in Melbourne and in Orlando. Complicating the strain which he suffered during the County's employment was a pre-existing 1978 back surgery which left him with a residual condition. This previous back surgery was not work-related. Although physicians assigned the County's injury as contributing 3 to 3.5 percent to his permanent partial physical disability, he has a significant psychiatric impairment which he attributes to the County accident It is on the strength of this psychiatric injury that his claim is being presented through his attorney. Given Mr. Schuckers' age (52 years) and his relatively minor permanent partial physical disability, staff diligently worked through rehabilitation providers to assess Mr. Schuckers' functional vocational capacity. He refused to cooperate and given his acceptance as disabled by the Social Security Administration, combined with the psychiatric overlay, we do not believe that rehabilitation efforts will be successful. Analysis As referenced above, staff worked through two rehabilitation providers in an attempt to return Mr. Schuckers to employment His psychiatric condition, however, has presented the maior obstacle to these efforts. Under workers' compensation law, the threshold for causal relationship between a psychiatric condition and an injury is minimal, and Mr. Schuckers' assertion is that his condition is attributable to his injury. Attached is a summary from the County's defense counsel, Paul Westcott, in which he outlines the financial implications of the claim. Psychiatric care will be ongoing and costly, and present value of the claim is evaluated at $51,000.00 to $102,000.00. To date, $15,932.96 has been paid in lost wages and $8,112.98 in medical costs. On September 27, we attended mediation for this claim. It was held in the courthouse because of security concerns. After several hours of negotiations, and with substantial- assistance from the mediator, we reached the proposed settlement literally on the courthouse steps since we had been asked by courthouse staff to leave the building because of the late hour. Over the next several days, Mr. Schuckers and his wife became disgruntled with the offer and negotiations continued between the attorneys. Mr. and Mrs. Schuckers believe his claim is worth considerably more than the proposed settlement While staff tried to limit the settlement to a sum under $50,000.00, we believe the settlement is well within the lower boundaries of the present value. Additionally, given Mr. Schuckers condition and open anger toward the County and its staff, we believe that the County's best interests will be served by the proposed settlement. 2 NOVEMBER 14, 1996