Proposed En Banc Decision May Lead to Increased Litigation
- April 1st, 2014
- Tom Richard
- No comments
The Appeals Board has issued a proposed en banc decision addressing whether the original panel QME or AME must be used to address subsequent dates of injury. In Ismael Navarro v. City of Montebello, the Appeals Board proposed holding the…
Appeals Board Limits Applicability of Independent Medical Review
- March 4th, 2014
- Tom Richard
- No comments
The Appeals Board has issued an en banc decision addressing the WCAB’s jurisdiction to resolve medical disputes and the applicability of Independent Medical Review. In Jose Dubon v. World Restoration, Inc.; and State Compensation Insurance Fund, the Appeals Board held…
Third District Weighs in on Almaraz/Guzman
- January 21st, 2014
- Tom Richard
- No comments
The California Court of Appeal, Third District, recently weighed in on rating by analogy pursuant to the Almaraz/Guzman decision. In City of Sacramento v. WCAB (Cannon), the applicant was suffering from plantar fasciitis, a painful foot condition which does not…
Late Supplemental Report Does Not Result in a New QME Panel
- October 14th, 2013
- Tom Richard
- No comments
A Judge at the Oakland WCAB has denied an applicant’s request for an Order instructing the Medical Unit to issue a new QME panel, where the QME’s requested supplemental report was not issued within the 60 day time limit set…
The 90-Day Deadline Does Not Apply to a “Part of Body” Dispute
- March 22nd, 2013
- Tom Richard
- No comments
The WCAB has ruled on an issue of concern to many thoughtful claims administrators: does a denial notice need to be sent when an applicant raises a new, disputed part of body in an accepted injury claim? For example, an…
Privacy & Employee Drug Testing
- December 6th, 2012
- Tom Richard
- No comments
This is the third and final in a series of posts regarding medical privacy issues in the workplace. This post concerns drug testing. An employer with a compelling business interest and a written policy prohibiting drug use or being under…
Using Fitness For Duty Exams
- November 26th, 2012
- Tom Richard
- No comments
This is the second in a series of posts regarding medical privacy issues in the workplace. This post concerns the handling of fitness-for-duty exams. Fitness-for-Duty exams are allowed notwithstanding constitutional, statutory and common law privacy protections, so long as they…
Handling Employee Medical Records
- October 12th, 2012
- Tom Richard
- No comments
This is the first in a series of posts regarding medical privacy issues in the workplace. This first post concerns the handling of medical documents. Both the ADA and FMLA dictate that any information related to an employee or job…
Study Shows Obesity Increases Workers’ Comp Costs
- July 12th, 2012
- Tom Richard
- No comments
A recent study published by the National Council of Compensation Insurance (NCCI) concludes that in workers compensation claims where the claimants have a co-morbidity code indicating obesity, medical costs are significantly higher than what is observed for comparable non-obese claimants….
Are Pools and Gardeners Medical Treatment?
- December 7th, 2011
- Tom Richard
- No comments
In the kind of case that boggles the mind and fires-up some state legislatures to reform their Workers’ Compensation laws, a Van Nuys judge awarded an applicant the services of a housekeeper, gardener, pool serviceman and penalized the employer under Labor Code…