‘Bureaucratic bull—‘: Fort Worth councilman slams city’s treatment of cops, firemen
In a social media post Thursday night, Fort Worth City Council Member Charles Lauersdorf took aim at the company that handles the city’s workers’ compensation claims, saying injured first responders are being unfairly treated.—
“I’m going after this. Publicly. Loudly. Relentlessly,” Lauersdorf wrote on Facebook. “Because Fort Worth doesn’t abandon the people who run toward danger.”
In his post, Lauersdorf said Sedgwick, which administers the claims, had made it difficult for employees who are hurt on the job through denials, extensive paperwork and “bureaucratic bull---- that leaves injured firefighters and police officers fighting two battles: one on the job and one at home.”
Lauersdorf added that Mayor Mattie Parker was on board with his assertions.
Lauersdorf was unavailable for comment when contacted by the Star-Telegram. A Sedgwick spokesperson referred the Star-Telegram to the city when reached for comment, but a city human resources spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email. The Star-Telegram also contacted the Fort Worth Police Officers Association and the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association requesting comment, but those messages were not immediately returned.
Diane Sims, a retired Fort Worth police sergeant who was injured multiple times while on duty, said Lauersdorf’s statement rang true. Sims said she’s been trying since September to get Sedgwick to approve a referral from her primary physician for her to see a pain management specialist.
When she contacts her Sedgwick claims adjuster, Sims said, she gets no response. But she didn’t lay the blame solely on Sedgwick.
“The city is allowing it to happen,” said Sims.
In her opinion, the holdups, delays and claim denials point to the city of Fort Worth trying to save money on treatment costs.
Lauersdorf is a Marine Corps veteran who was injured in combat, and he still serves as a Marine Corps reservist. During his campaigns for City Council and his time in office, Lauersdorf has voiced support for the city’s police and firefighters.
A past lawsuit alleged workers’ compensation mismanagement
When a city employee is injured at work, they are required to choose a physician, surgeon, physical therapist or other provider from Fort Worth’s BlackStone network, a city-created panel of approved healthcare providers.
While BlackStone manages the treatment, Sedgwick, a multi-national claims management provider, processes the claims itself, deciding which are approved and which are denied.
Last April, Steve Simmons, a pain management physician, and chiropractor Jon Schweitzer sued the city after they were removed from the BlackStone network. Simmons and Schweitzer alleged that was done in retaliation for them advocating on behalf of police officers injured in the line of duty.
Simmons and Schweitzer practice at Southwest Sports and Spine Center, which has four locations: two in Fort Worth, one in Hurst and one in Cleburne. Before they were taken off the list of approved providers, the pair said they had treated hundreds of Fort Worth police officers.
At the time of the lawsuit, Simmons and Schweitzer told the Star-Telegram the city pushed injured officers to undergo physical therapy when in reality they needed surgery. Simmons and Schweitzer viewed that as a tactic to save money and hurry officers back to work.
The city of Fort Worth disputed those allegations and countered by saying Southwest Sports and Spine providers failed to return officers to work in an appropriately timely manner.
Simmons and Schweitzer and the city mutually agreed to dismiss the lawsuit and all associated claims in June.
Sims, who had been a patient at Southwest Sports and Spine, supported Schweitzer and Simmons during the litigation, as did a handful of current Fort Worth police officers who showed up at a court hearing. Those officers, however, declined to give their names, fearing backlash from the police department.
This story was originally published January 16, 2026 at 2:52 PM.