“Our purpose is to promote the health and welfare of California’s public safety personnel who are in the Worker’s Compensation system. As a Special Purpose Corporation (SPC), we are here for a cause, not to make money.”
–Scott Sorensen, Founder, Cardinal Point Advisors
Cardinal Point Advisors was born out of Scott Sorensen’s own frustration with the Workers’ Compensation system. In 2000, he injured his back rescuing a trapped passenger from a vehicle. At the time the injury seemed minor and he almost did not report it. His Captain ordered him to report it however and he’s glad now that he did.
The injury was diagnosed as a lower back strain by the City’s doctor. The injury recurred regularly, prompting Scott to seek medical treatment repeatedly. In 2012 things took a turn for the worse. He had trouble walking up the stairs and putting on his shoes. By January 2014 he could barely get out of bed. He was in severe pain all day, every day. The City’s doctor requested an MRI, which was denied. The appeal for the MRI was also denied. Scott, like many before him, found himself at the end of the line and believed his career was over.
He switched doctors and finally got an MRI which showed four herniated discs. From there he was able to get a neurosurgeon consult and receive approval for spinal injections. The injections took away his pain and allowed him to have effective physical therapy for the first time. There was one problem though. He had used up all his allotted physical therapy visits over the previous two years and requests for additional therapy were denied.
Scott was now back on modified duty but the Department and the City would not override the Utilization Review decision to deny physical therapy. They also would not authorize him to take time off to do Pilates, swimming, and yoga which four doctors recommended in writing in lieu of physical therapy. He ended up taking his accumulated vacation hours in order to rehabilitate his back. By November 2014, Scott worked his way back to full duty.
The Manifesto
During this process, Scott learned everything he could about the Workers’ Compensation system, from inside and outside, from experts and from victims. He heard tragic stories of delay, denial, and outright dereliction of duty by employers who failed to help injured firefighters and police officers get the care they need. Over time, he began to see the missing pieces as he put his experience and knowledge to work helping his coworkers break through the system and overcome repeated delays and denials.
In 2014, Scott came to a personal and professional realization that changed his life.
No fire fighter or law enforcement officer should ever have to face unnecessary prolonging of their injuries or loss of their career because they did not receive prompt or proper medical care.
Then the idea of the Peer Advocate hit him. He could train others to do what he had learned.
He established Cardinal Points Advisors (CPA) as a Special Purpose Corporation (SPC). An SPC is similar to incorporation, but with a major distinction. Incorporated companies, by law, must work to maximize profits or be vulnerable to lawsuits by shareholders. Special Purpose Corporations may spend money on a purpose, and not be required to focus on profits.
Vision: Become a Change Agent
The purpose of CPA goes beyond short-term, worker-specific advocacy. The company is committed to a bigger vision: to effect real-world changes within the Workers’ Compensation system itself. Among their key long-term goals are:
- Streamline and shorten the cumbersome process of the approval/denial cycle
- Reduce the overall costs of the system at all levels: employer and state
- Motivate and enroll the whole community to improve outcomes for injured workers: union members, department leaders, employers, healthcare and legal professionals, claims administrators, and legislators.
Key Steps toward this Vision
- SURVEY
Provide a free Statistical Survey Tool that identifies the specific problems and issues within each department. Without surveying the entire membership, union and department leaders can only guess what the problems are based on isolated incidents.
- BODY OF DATA
Collect, track, and organize information from members, such as: injury rates, types of injuries, rates of recovery, outcomes for different injuries, and timelines for claims processing and appeals. Getting a real-world picture of trends and patterns state-wide is the only way to see clearly what’s working, what’s not, and what changes could be made to improve the overall effectiveness of the Workers’ Compensation system.
For example, claims for presumptive injuries often take up to a year to resolve, but in the end, benefits are granted to the worker in the overwhelming number of cases. If there were substantial data to prove this, the union could bring this evidence to the employer and negotiate to have presumptive injuries accepted immediately rather than fought out every time.
Scott lives in Aptos California with his family. He has been in the fire service for 29 years and has been awarded the Department’s Medal of Valor, multiple life- saving awards, and the U.S. Sailing Hanson Medal for rescues at sea. He has worked as a rigger and medic for multiple international adventure races including the ESPN X Games. Scott has volunteered as a camp counselor for the Alisa Ann Rusch Burn Foundation summer camp for burn-injured children and Ride A Wave, an organization that takes disabled and disadvantaged children surfing.
