RTGR Law has Achieved the AV Preeminent® Rating – the Highest Possible Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®
- October 11th, 2016
- Tom Richard
- No comments
RTGR Law has earned the 2017 AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell® the highest possible rating for both ethical standards and legal ability. RTGR Law has achieved this rating every year since 2014. For more than 130 years, lawyers have relied…
Will SB 897 create a public safety risk?
- August 23rd, 2016
- Tom Richard
- No comments
SB 897 is a bill working its way through the legislature and many observers expect it to make its way to the Governor’s desk by August 31st. The bill would provide a second year of Labor Code section 4850 pay…
Rebooting California’s Workers’ Compensation Lien Process
- December 15th, 2015
- Tom Richard
- No comments
The Story of SB863’s Legacy-Lien Activation Fee By Lauren J. Moniz, Esq. A recent Ninth Circuit panel decision has put some lien claimants between a rock and a hard place; while at the same time, the decision upholds the intention of…
Dahl overturned by the Court
- September 25th, 2015
- Tom Richard
- No comments
The Court of Appeal has overturned the WCAB’s decision and concluded: In sum, we find WCAB’s approach in this case flies in the face of Ogilvie and the 2004 amendments to the workers’ compensation scheme. Under the 2004 amendments, a…
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…
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…