More than two years after sustaining injuries during a violent altercation with a suspect, Fort Worth police officer Bobbie Sanchez says she’s still fighting to get needed medical care. Now, she questions why the city hasn’t done more to overhaul its workers’ compensation program following a public outcry earlier this year.
In January, City Council Member Charles Lauersdorf wrote in a social media post that he was “declaring war on Sedgwick,” the company that manages workers’ compensation claims for Fort Worth employees. Lauersdorf said he’d heard from multiple police officers and firefighters who had difficulty getting treatment approved through Sedgwick for injuries sustained on the job.
Records obtained by the Star-Telegram earlier this year showed that police officers and firefighters were far more likely than employees of other city departments to have injury claims denied.
“When a first responder gets hurt doing their job, the system should move heaven and earth to take care of them AND return them to the warrior-athlete they were,” wrote Lauersdorf. “Instead, I’ve heard of delays, denials, runarounds, paperwork games and bureaucratic bull—- that leaves injured firefighters and police officers fighting two battles: one on the job and one at home.”
Following Lauersdorf’s post, the Star-Telegram spoke with firefighters and police officers, including Sanchez, who said they were frustrated with what they described as relentless hoops they had to jump through to get on-the-job injury claims approved.
In July 2024, Sanchez was elbowed in the face when she approached a suspicious person while working a car theft detail. The blow dislocated her jaw and permanently damaged both her temporomandibular joints, which connect the jawbone to the skull.
Because there wasn’t an oral surgeon in the city of Fort Worth’s network of approved health care providers, Sanchez had to find one on her own and pay out of pocket. It took 10 months for her to receive treatment on her jaw, she said, and it required multiple escalations before she was reimbursed for the money she’d outlaid.
A Fort Worth spokesman did not respond to an email requesting comment on Sanchez’s case.
Sanchez said she also sustained injuries to her neck and shoulder during the altercation, which were at first classified as simple strains or sprains. A treating physician prescribed medication and physical therapy, but the pain persisted. Finally, this summer, a new physician ordered MRIs on Sanchez’s upper spine and an electromyography test on her nerves and muscles. The test and imaging revealed bulging and protruding discs and three pinched nerves.
The nerve issue causes Sanchez’s arm to periodically go numb. Once more, physical therapy is the prescribed treatment for the numbness and pain. Sanchez’s physician also ordered steroid injections, but that is pending approval by Sedgwick.
Sanchez did say a third-party nurse case manager contracted by the city has of late been helping her navigate the claims process. Sanchez described the case manager as “a tremendous blessing.”
For the time being, Sanchez is working behind a desk, though she’d rather be out on her old beat as a neighborhood police officer on the city’s north side.
She’d be doing that, she said, if not for delays in receiving proper medical care from the beginning. In some instances, Sanchez said, it’s taken weeks to just get an email response to a question from her Sedgwick claims adjuster.
“It’s a bit like torture the longer they drag this out,” said Sanchez.
Jack Bowen, who lives in the Chisholm Ridge neighborhood that Sanchez used to patrol, said he and his neighbors miss having her in the community.
“We’ve had some good NPOs, but she’s the first one we’ve had that when someone disrespects our neighborhood, she takes it personally,” said Bowen. “Even though we can refer something to her, and she refers it to another officer, it’s huge not to have that person in the neighborhood.”
In August 2024, over a month after Sanchez was injured, Bowen spoke at a City Council meeting and urged council members to help Sanchez obtain treatment.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in the neighborhood, except the bad guys, who don’t like her,” Bowen said recently.
What does the future hold for Sedgwick?
The city signed a five-year contract with Sedgwick in 2020 that allowed for two additional one-year extensions at the city’s discretion. The first of those terms is set to end on Nov. 19.
At a Public Safety Committee meeting in April, Kristen Smith, Fort Worth’s human resources director, said the city would likely solicit proposals from workers’ compensation administrators this calendar year, with a new contract beginning sometime in fiscal year 2027, which starts Oct. 1.
As of Sept. 22, a request for proposal has not been issued. Smith said that was scheduled to happen this fall, but she didn’t provide a specific timeframe or say whether the request would go out before the expiration of Sedgwick’s current contract.
All along, city officials have argued that Sedgwick has done a good job and that workers’ compensation claims have been handled properly. Sedgwick is expected to be allowed to submit a new bid during the request for proposal period, though Lauersdorf previously told the Star-Telegram he would not support them.
Lauersdorf did not respond to a text message and voice message requesting comment for this report.
A representative from Sedgwick said in an emailed statement that the company hopes to continue working with the city.
When asked about police and firefighter complaints regarding delayed responses from Sedgwick employees, the company spokesperson said there was an escalation process in place. Email messages from Sedgwick claims adjusters, for instance, provide a supervisor’s name and contact information. Injured workers can reach out to the supervisor if they aren’t getting a timely answer from their adjuster. But Sanchez said that process hadn’t worked for her.
The Sedgwick spokesperson went on to say the company was looking at other strategies to improve response times.
“Our product is our people, and our goal is to treat every person with respect and address their needs in a timely manner,” the Sedgwick statement read.
When asked about denials, the Sedgwick spokesperson said licensed review physicians are the only people who have the authority to approve or deny treatment prescribed for an injured worker. If a treatment is denied, the reviewing physician is supposed to try and work with the injured employee’s doctor to modify the request or otherwise discuss what’s needed.
That’s how the system is designed to work, but if you ask enough police and firefighters, something is broken.
“Sadly, I don’t believe Sedgwick is the main issue,” Sanchez said. “I believe Sedgwick is a symptom of the workers’ comp problem at large. What I want people to hear most is that my horrible experience is not unique.”
Sanchez said Fort Worth police department leaders support finding a solution, but she believes it’s going to take a statewide effort.
A spokesman for the Texas Municipal Police Association , which represents law enforcement personnel, said the organization is pushing legislation that will hopefully reduce workers’ compensation treatment delays.
The proposed legislation would, among other things, allow critically injured first responders to receive needed medical care and medical devices immediately after being hurt using their personal insurance as opposed to having to wait for workers’ compensation approval.
The legislation will also seek to force cities and workers’ compensation administrators to be more specific when giving reasons for denying a claim, eliminating generalized denials.