It may not be well known, but both Labor Code Section 3600 (a)(10) and Labor Code Section 3208.3 (e)(5) contain provisions that exempt their application to those claims where the date of injury is determined in accordance with Labor Code Section 5412... Read More

It may be an unfortunate reality but narcotics are a common aspect of medical treatment within the workers’ compensation system. As pain is an extremely individual experience, it is difficult if not impossible to assess whether the medications prescribed... Read More

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

A recent California case with a wild factual scenario provides guidance on the important factual distinctions between horseplay and the initial physical aggressor defense California Labor Code Section 3600 sets forth a number of conditions that must... Read More

Here’s the fourth batch of advanced postings for the January 2012 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com subscribers can link to the case to read the complete headnotes. County of Kern/Kern County Probation Department, PSI, Petitioner v. Workers'... Read More

Here’s the next batch of advanced postings for the March 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. Kyong... Read More

The Second District Court of Appeals has reversed a W.C.A.B. award of psychiatric injury for an employee with less than 6 months employment and in doing so has provided valuable additional guidance on the criterion for meeting the statutory exception... Read More

Lexis.com subscribers can link to the cases cited below. The AMA Guides generally disfavors grip loss as a measurement for rating a whole person impairment (WPI). (See AMA Guides Fifth Edition, page 508.) However, a series of recent WCAB panel decisions... Read More

By Robert G. Rassp, Esq. Whole person impairment ratings for sleep disorders in Table 13-4, and the instructions for use on page 317 of the AMA Guides Fifth Edition have created conflicting WCAB panel decisions on whether a sleep disorder can exist... Read More

By Robert G. Rassp, Esq. The following email string is true, accurate and correct. It is a typical email string between an applicant’s attorney and a defense attorney. We all have cases like this in our inventories. In this case, the Applicant... Read More

Susan V. Hamilton, a Deputy Commissioner of the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB), retired at the end of 2011. Deputy Commissioner Hamilton had a long, productive and influential career in public service in many roles with the... Read More

Here’s the third batch of advanced postings for the January 2012 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. FEATURED CASE: NCCI-MANDATED ASSIGNED RISK POLICY PLAIN LANGUAGE UPHELD Lexis.com subscribers can link to the case to read the complete summary. Ardis... Read More

Neil Patrick Sullivan, a Deputy Commissioner of the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB), will retire on December 30, 2014, after a brilliant 30-year legal career, the overwhelming majority of which was exclusively with the WCAB... Read More

The California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board will lose its “Chief Executive Officer” when Rick Dietrich retires on December 30, 2015. As Secretary and Deputy Commissioner, Rick is the chief advisor and legal counsel to the Chair... Read More

The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, Office of the Commissioners in San Francisco, seeks candidates to fill two full time permanent staff attorney vacancies: Industrial Relations Counsel II $6,347 - $8,141 salary plus benefits Industrial... Read More