Blog

Time flies. It has been six years since the passage of the 2012 workers’ comp reform package, SB 863. And it’s been two years since the WCIRB published a November 2016 dedicated research paper monitoring the costs of SB 863 (see link below). Data isn’t everything,. It is obvious but alway needs repeating. The workers’ [...]

Journalists at the Center for Investigative Reporting have recently published an analysis of alleged widespread safety issues at the Fremont, California plant where Tesla cars are built (see link to the article at the bottom of this post). In 2017 I posted on a Worksafe think-tank study analyzing Tesla’s safety record: http://www.workerscompzone.com/?s=Tesla The recent CIR report provides [...]

What is the effect on a claim for temporary disability or permanent disability if a worker self-procures treatment that was denied by utilization review and IMR? That was the question in a 2017 WCAB panel decision, Belinda Go v. Sutter Solano Medical Center (ADJ 10168011) . The result in Go stands, as both the California Court of Appeal and the California [...]

The California State Auditor recently released a December 2017 audit report on fraud in the California workers’ comp system. An unusual crossfire resulted, as the California Department of Insurance (the CDI) accepted the audit recommendations, but the Department of Industrial Relations disputed the recommendations, causing the State Auditor to fire back in rebuttal to the DIR’s response. [...]

Some of the most revered figures in American’s media and entertainment industry have recently been toppled by a wave of sexual harassment allegations. And those embroiled in this wave of misconduct allegations include politicians both left and right, Democrat and Republican. Sacramento has seen its share of these allegations. A large group of women who [...]

How should opioid tapering be done under California’s MTUS and the formulary regulations that are being developed? That was the subject of comments recently submitted by the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association pursuant to the 2nd 15-day comment period on the proposed formulary (see links at end of this post). Clearly the DWC is behind the [...]