December 06, 2022

Herlick Handbook Appendix Table of Computing Benefits

Dear Herlick Subscribers: The updated table is set forth below. This table if copyrighted by LexisNexis and Jay Shesrgill. Sincerely, LexisNexis

December 06, 2022

Workers' Comp Laws of Calif Tables 14 and 17

Dear Print Subscribers: Please find the updated tables below. They are copyrighted by LexisNexis and Jay Shergill. All rights reserved. Sincerely, LexisNexis

November 29, 2022

California: Rule 10759(B): What Does “Meet & Confer” Mean?

By Hon. Robert G. Rassp, Editor-in-Chief, Rassp & Herlick, California Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis) DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not those of the California Department of Industrial Relations, the Division of Workers’ Compensation, or the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. This article is not intended to serve as a legal brief or to provide legal advice...

November 28, 2022

California Compensation Cases November 2022

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 87, No. 11 November 2022 A Report of En Banc and Significant Panel Decisions of the WCAB and Selected Court Opinions of Related Interest, With a Digest of WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE Page © Copyright 2022 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. LexisNexis Online Subscribers: You can link to your account on Lexis+ to read the complete headnotes and...

November 17, 2022

California Workers’ Comp Benefits to Increase in 2023

Oakland, CA – California’s State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) rose by more than 5 percent in the year ending March 31, 2022, which will result in an increase in California workers’ compensation temporary total disability (TTD) and permanent total disability (PTD) rates for 2023 work injury claims and other workers’ compensation benefits that are tied to SAWW increases. The latest wage data from the U.S. Department of...

November 14, 2022

2022 An Overview of Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis

By Thomas A. Robinson, Co-Editor-in-Chief, Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis (LexisNexis) One of the significant defining events in the more than 100-year history of American workers’ compensation world was the creation 50 years ago of the National Commission on State Workmen’s [sic] Compensation Laws. The Commission met within the context of a myriad of competing interests, with some desiring a “nationalization...

November 14, 2022

California: High Velocity Eye Injury

A WCAB panel recently issued an interesting decision on the issue of high velocity eye injuries. The panel broadly interpreted the Labor Code § 4656(c)(3)(F) exception to the 104-week cap on temporary disability. Read our headnote below. CA - NOTEWORTHY PANEL DECISIONS Copyright 2023 by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Andrew Glick , Applicant v. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, Inc., PSI, Defendant...

November 14, 2022

California: Timeframes for QME Panel Requests

A WCAB panel recently issued a noteworthy decision on the timeframes for QME panel requests. Read our headnote below. CA - NOTEWORTHY PANEL DECISIONS Copyright 2023 by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Laura Rodriguez , Applicant v. Continuing Life, LLC, Safety National Casualty Company, administered by Corvel Corporation, Defendants W.C.A.B. No. ADJ14754391—WCJ Lawrence Keller (SFO); WCAB Panel: Chair...

November 02, 2022

California: Noteworthy Independent Medical Review (IMR) Decisions (10/2022)

LexisNexis has selected some recently issued noteworthy IMR decisions that illustrate the criteria that must be met to obtain authorization for a variety of different medical treatment modalities. LexisNexis Commentary for each selected IMR is provided below. Many of these IMR decisions were reprinted in California Compensation Cases , which can be accessed on Lexis Advance. Lexis Advance subscribers can access those...

October 24, 2022

California: Assault by a Co-worker

A Board Panel recently found decedent’s death arose out of and was in the course of employment, when decedent’s murder, which occurred at work when he was shot and killed by co-worker over alleged affair with co-worker’s wife who worked for same employer at different facility, was sufficiently connected to decedent’s employment. CA - NOTEWORTHY PANEL DECISIONS Copyright 2022 by Matthew Bender...

October 24, 2022

California: Gig Workers, Prop. 22, and Jurisdiction

Here’s an interesting gig worker case in which Lyft is claiming no jurisdiction under Prop. 22 in the context of subpoena duces tecum for records. Check out how the Board Panel ruled in this case. CA - NOTEWORTHY PANEL DECISIONS Copyright 2022 by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Gisela Murguia, Applicant v. Lyft, Inc., Blue Star Claims Management Phoenix, Defendants W.C.A.B. No. ADJ15999271—WCJ Dean...

October 24, 2022

California: Psychiatric Injury and Catastrophic Injury

Here’s an interesting Board Panel Decision that interprets what constitutes a "catastrophic" injury under Wilson for the purposes of recovering increased PD for a psychiatric injury. CA - NOTEWORTHY PANEL DECISIONS Copyright 2022 by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Douglas Schaan , Applicant v. Jerry Thompson & Sons, Liberty Mutual, Defendants W.C.A.B. No. ADJ9898989—WCAB Panel: Chair...

October 20, 2022

California Compensation Cases October 2022

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 87, No. 10 October 2022 A Report of En Banc and Significant Panel Decisions of the WCAB and Selected Court Opinions of Related Interest, With a Digest of WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE © Copyright 2022 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. LexisNexis Online Subscribers: You can link to your account on Lexis+ to read the complete headnotes and court...

October 07, 2022

California: Rebuttal of COVID-19 Presumption

AB 1751, signed into law by the Governor, extended COVID-19 presumptions until January 1, 2024, and added additional first responders to the presumption. See amended Labor Code §§ 3212.86, 3212.87, and 3212.88. Here’s an interesting board panel decision where the WCAB panel found that the defendant did not rebut the COVID-19 presumption in Section 3212.86. Read the LexisNexis headnote below. CA - NOTEWORTHY...

October 03, 2022

California Compensation Cases September 2022

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 87, No. 9 September 2022 A Report of En Banc and Significant Panel Decisions of the WCAB and Selected Court Opinions of Related Interest, With a Digest of WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE © Copyright 2022 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. LexisNexis Online Subscribers: You can link to your account on Lexis+ to read the complete headnotes and court...

October 03, 2022

California: Jurisdiction over Repayment of Disability Retirement Benefits

In what might be a case of first impression, a Board Panel has issued a decision on the WCAB’s jurisdiction over repayment of disability retirement benefits. Read the LexisNexis headnote below. CA - NOTEWORTHY PANEL DECISIONS Copyright 2022 by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Rebecca Gage , Applicant v. County of Sacramento, PSI, Defendant W.C.A.B. No. ADJ8010054—WCAB Panel: Chair Zalewski, Commissioners...

September 27, 2022

California: Division of Attorney’s Fees

A Board Panel recently addressed the division of attorney’s fees for the $180,000.00 fee that an applicant received pursuant to the parties’ Compromise and Release agreement. The Board Panel found that the WCJ properly divided the $180,000.00 fee between applicant’s former attorney and his current attorney ($30,000.00 to former attorney and $150,000.00 to current attorney) based on factors in Labor Code...

September 27, 2022

California: No Findings of Self-Inflicted Harm or Deviation from Employment

A Board Panel recently issued a noteworthy decision addressing the issues of self-inflicted harm and deviation from employment. Regarding the first issue, the Board Panel affirmed the WCJ’s finding of catastrophic injury resulting from a fall on a stairwell, and that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that applicant’s fall was barred pursuant to Labor Code § 3600(a)(5) due to suicidal ideation...

September 22, 2022

California: Third-Party Settlement; Credit and Attorney’s Fees

In a noteworthy board panel decision, Pena v. Aqua Systems, the WCAB addressed the principles to be followed when a defendant asserts a third-party settlement against its liability to pay workers’ compensation benefits. In this case, defendant and applicant stipulated to a third-party credit to be applied against applicant’s attorney’s fees, without the involvement of the applicant’s attorney....

September 15, 2022

California: Settlement; Good Cause Shown to Set Aside; Duress or Undue Influence

In a noteworthy board panel decision, the WCAB, granting reconsideration, affirmed the WCJ’s decision that there was good cause to set aside an order approving compromise and release for $95,000.00 at the request of the Applicant, two months after its execution and settlement funds were paid, when the Applicant established that the agreement was secured by duress or undue influence, and the WCAB determined that...

September 14, 2022

CWCI Reports Continued Decline in IMR Volume in the First Half of 2022

After hitting a record low in 2021, the number of independent medical review (IMRs) used to resolve California workers' comp medical disputes continued to decline in the first half of 2022 according to new data from the California Workers' Compensation Institute (CWCI).   Under California law, every workers’ comp claims administrator must have a Utilization Review (UR) program to ensure that the treatment provided...

September 14, 2022

California: COVID-19 Presumption and Burden of Proof

One of the first COVID-19 Board Panel Decisions we’ve seen on presumption of industrial causation is Jackson v. County of Los Angeles. Though it is remanded for development of the record, it illustrates what the Appeals Board expects the parties and the QME or AME to provide in order for a decision to be based on substantial medical evidence. Our headnote on COVID-19 burden of proof reads as follows: CA - NOTEWORTHY...

September 11, 2022

California PEOs: How to Prosecute and Defend Cases Involving Employee Leasing Agreements

By Hon. Robert G. Rassp, Editor-in-Chief, Rassp & Herlick, California Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis) DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not those of the California Department of Industrial Relations, the California Division of Workers’ Compensation, or the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. This article is not intended to serve...

August 31, 2022

California Compensation Cases August 2022

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 87, No. 8 August 2022 A Report of En Banc and Significant Panel Decisions of the WCAB and Selected Court Opinions of Related Interest, With a Digest of WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE © Copyright 2022 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. LexisNexis Online Subscribers: You can link to your account on Lexis+ to read the complete headnotes and court decisions...

August 22, 2022

California: Commencement of Life Pension Payments

Here’s an interesting split panel decision regarding when to commence life pension payments after payments of commuted PD terminate. CA - NOTEWORTHY PANEL DECISIONS Copyright 2022 by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Kevin Suh, Applicant v. Metropolitan State Hospital, State Compensation Insurance Fund, Defendants W.C.A.B. Nos. ADJ9017624, ADJ9017629—WCAB Panel: Chair Zalewski, Deputy Commissioner...