Prior to Senate Bill 899, the law was clear as to which party had the burden of proof on the apportionment issue. If defendant could not provide substantial evidence that there was either pre-existing PD or a progressive disease process, apportionment... Read More

Here’s the second batch of advanced postings for the January 2012 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. FEATURED CASE: IDIOPATHIC SEIZURES IN A POST-SB 899 WORLD Lexis.com subscribers can link to the case to read the complete summary. Harris Ranch Inn... Read More

Featured Case of the Week: Intoxication Defense Fails Despite "Presumptive Positive" Blood Test Beyette's Tree Care, Uninsured, Petitioner v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, Bart James Johnson , Respondents , 2011 Cal. Wrk. Comp... Read More

Here’s the fourth batch of advanced postings for the February 2012 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com subscribers can link to the cases to read the complete headnotes and summaries. © Copyright 2012 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. ... Read More

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 76 No. 11 November 2011 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 © Copyright 2011... Read More

Here are the first two batches of advanced postings for the May 2014 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com and Lexis Advance subscribers can link to the case to read the complete headnotes and summaries. © Copyright 2014 LexisNexis. All rights... Read More

The Court of Appeal has closed what could have ended up being an enormous loophole in Labor Code § 4663 with a decision reversing a W.C.A.B. opinion on apportionment and then ordering publication after the decision was initially ordered unpublished... Read More

A persistent problem area for workers’ compensation practitioners, physicians, and WCJs is to understand and apply the proper methodology to determine apportionment related to Petitions to Reopen for New and Further Disability under the WCAB’s... Read More

The AMA Guides under the California’s workers’ compensation system are for determining whole person impairment (WPI) and not apportionment under Labor Code §§ 4663 and 4664 In two separate cases, Caires v. Sharp Healthcare, 2014... Read More

Featured Case of the Week: Severance Agreement Waiving Workers' Comp Benefits Not Valid Sompo Japan Insurance Company of America (formerly known as Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company, c/o Broadspire, a Crawford Co.), insurer for Canon... Read More

The Court of Appeals in the 3rd District has issued a blockbuster opinion on apportionment in City of Jackson v W.C.A.B. (Rice) regarding the requirements for substantial medical evidence in worker’ compensation cases. In reversing the W.C.A.B.... Read More

In Chirinos v. Heartwood Cabinet , No. ADJ2087163, the WCAB panel found that the applicant’s failure to submit to a physical examination by the panel QME did not render the panel QME’s reports inadmissible for purposes of this contribution... Read More

Here’s the third batch of advanced postings for the January 2014 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com and Lexis Advance subscribers can link to the case to read the complete headnotes and summaries . © Copyright 2014 LexisNexis. All rights... Read More

Here’s the next batch of advanced postings for the May 2012 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com subscribers can link to the cases to read the complete headnotes and summaries. © Copyright 2012 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. Rafael... Read More

The Exception to Defendant’s Burden of Proof on Apportionment One of the most frequent issues pending before the WCAB lately has been how to handle apportionment to significant non-industrial causes when the applicant has successfully rebutted... Read More