Overall it was a great event. David Depaolo and his crew at workcompcentral.com held a strong event based on an outstanding idea; recognizing those people within workers’ compensation who reach beyond the expected to achieve excellent results. The Comp Laude Gala, held Saturday night in Burbank, CA, recognized professionals, service providers and injured workers, all who have made a special effort to be something more than what the norm would often expect of them in their respective roles.
It certainly was an evening that deserves a more noble article title than the one I have assigned. There was, however, a singular moment this past Saturday night in Burbank that I just cannot get beyond. It was a moment of tremendous embarrassment for our entire industry.
Depaolo had invited Rosemary Mckenzie-Ferguson, of Adelaide, Australia, to fly to Los Angeles and provide the Keynote address for the gala. Mckenzie-Ferguson is an injured worker who has committed her life to improving the lives of others in the system. She runs Craig’s Table, a center in Australia dedicated to assisting injured workers by supporting them via any necessary means. Services her center provides include helping them return to work, as well as a food program called “Bags of Love”. Her primary objective is restoring dignity to people who have lost much through the perils of a workplace injury.
She had been speaking for approximately 40 minutes when, suddenly, one of the attendees rose from his table and walked to the center of the large room that held about 400 people. He started yelling at her while making “cutting” motions across his neck. As all heads turned towards the commotion and she stopped talking, he yelled, “Lady, cut it off! You are way over your talking time!”
Having shouted his piece, he skulked back to his table, while a shocked crowd absorbed what had just happened. Rosemary, for her part, handled it gracefully, pausing for a moment and then continuing on to conclude her remarks.
Meanwhile, I turned to my table mates and said, “My money is on that being a plaintiff’s attorney. 100% guaranteed.”
I have a bit of history to back up that summation. While I have never encountered such abhorrent and juvenile behavior as that witnessed Saturday night, I have occasionally when speaking been interrupted by people who shout out a comment or a question while I am mid-sentence. It is not common, but every single time it has happened it has been a plaintiff’s attorney (Applicant’s attorney in California parlance). I don’t know why that is, but it has always been the case, each and every time it has occurred. I have a good friend who is an injured workers’ attorney here in Florida. We are members of the same civic group in Sarasota. He is the only person in the club known to interrupt a luncheon speaker with a comment or sharp question if he disagrees with them. These attorneys are not bad people, but it must be something with their personality profile. Perhaps there is a class during the second year of Plaintiff Attorney Law School called “Forgetting Everything Your Mother Taught You About Social Etiquette 101”. I have no idea.
As it turns out, my wager was correct. We found out afterwards that the person in question was indeed a California Applicants Attorney. Believe me, he was a primary topic of discussion during drinks after the show.
So, in case the irony is lost on you, let me summarize the situation. A man, whose profession is dedicated to giving voice to the injured worker, was yelling at an injured worker who was on a stage in front of 400 people telling her to shut the hell up.
Nice. Really nice. And classy, in a Jersey Shore meets Honey Boo Boo sort of way. Welcome to the United States, Rosemary. It was, beyond any doubt, the worst behavior I have ever witnessed in my many years of conference and event participation. In an industry struggling with the image as an inhumane and uncaring one, it was an extremely negative visual. Pure fodder for our critics; it was a pompous and bombastic action taken by someone whose time is apparently far more valuable than the rest of the people in the room. I'd hate to see how he handles potential clients when he discovers their employer was uninsured.
Now here is the deal: The online agenda for the Comp Laude Gala read that the Keynote would be at 6:00PM, with the awards ceremony starting at 6:45 (The printed version was slightly different, but who really cares?). The event was running a bit behind, which is not unusual or even a concern, and Rosemary was introduced around 6:30. That means, when this yoho got up and started stamping his little feet in protest at 7:10, she was still within her scheduled period. He wasn’t just rude and inconsiderate. He was wrong as well.
I am not going to judge or label the man, but I can certainly label his behavior. In other words, I don’t know who this guy was, so I cannot say he was a douchebag. His behavior, however, was unquestionably douchebagesque. That is “douchebag like”, or “reeking of douchebaggery”. I recognize that for some this will be an offensive phrase. However, it is a phrase commensurate with the behavior we witnessed. It was a sullied and pitiful moment in an otherwise worthy and important night. That guy should apologize to everyone that was there.
The rest of the entire soirée was great. Kudos to Depaolo and crew for filling the void, and putting together an event that recognizes the good efforts of people in an extremely difficult industry. Honoring those who think outside the box and work for the best outcomes is a noble and worthy effort. The Comp Laude Gala took care to recognize a broad spectrum of participants, from injured workers to legal and service professionals to employers, and they covered almost all the bases.
In fact, if they had offered a Douchebag Award, they would have had something for literally everybody.