In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Idaho held that the plain wording of Idaho Code Ann. §§ 72-425 and 72-430 require that all personal and economic circumstances that diminish the ability of the claimant to compete in an open labor market... Read More
Recently, a panel of three commissioners with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) addressed the “cannot parcel out” exception” outlined in Benson v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2009) 170 Cal. App.4th 1535 , 74... Read More
An injured Pennsylvania worker, whose disability status was modified from permanent to temporary in 2008, based upon a 2006 impairment rating evaluation (IRE), who then exhausted her 500 weeks of partial disability benefits and, within three years of... Read More
Featured Case of the Week: Worker’s Pre-existing Diabetes Not to Blame for Post-Injury Amputation Bridgestone Firestone, Old Republic Insurance Company, Petitioners v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, Ronald Fussell (aka Ronald Fussel... Read More
Claimant's capacity to return to work for 1 1/2 years after her back injury defeated her SIF claim that she was permanently and totally disabled. Her duties such as data entry, answering phones or monitoring suicidal patients were considered a ‘real... 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
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
LexisNexis experts provide in-depth analysis of key portions of SB 863: Medical Treatment Permanent Disability Liens Self-insurance Carve Outs Fee Schedules WARNING: These articles were based on the 8/24 and 8/27 drafts of SB 863. On... 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. William... Read More
By Colleen S. Casey Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. The decision in Ogilvie v. WCAB (Ogilvie III) (2011) 76 CCC 624 created an increasing demand for the expertise of vocational rehabilitation (VR) experts. Parties... Read More
New Clues on Applying an Ogilvie III Analysis in a DFEC Rebuttal Case In a recent panel decision of Dahl v. Contra Costa County (ADJ1310387) issued on May 18, 2012, the WCAB commissioners shed some light on how to apply an Ogilvie III analysis in a... Read More
By Robert G. Rassp, Esq. AMA’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment , Fifth Edition, Chapter 13 on the central and peripheral nervous system, is one of the most important chapters in the Guides for our purposes as workers’ compensation... 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
At a seminar during the recent DWC 19th Annual Educational Conference in Oakland, we heard opinions about interpreting Ogilvie , rating permanent disability, and rebutting the 2005 Permanent Disability Rating Schedule. Although Ogilvie did not give us... Read More