Workers' Compensation

Recent Posts

Minnesota: Injured Employee Fails to Establish Need for Long-term Opioids
Posted on 30 Aug 2021 by Thomas A. Robinson

The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that an injured worker had failed to establish that his long-term use of Endocet—an opioid—was in line with long-term treatment parameters established pursuant to Minn. R. 5221.6110 (2019). Accordingly,... Read More

Prescription Drug Abuse in America (Part One): The Problem
Posted on 8 Nov 2011 by Stuart D. Colburn

By Stuart Colburn, Esq., Downs Stanford, P.C. A November 2011 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report describes prescription painkiller abuse as “a public health epidemic.” The CDC concludes that “improving the way... Read More

Larson’s Spotlight on Recent Cases: Injured Worker Rebuts Intoxication Presumption
Posted on 29 Oct 2012 by Larson's Spotlight

Larson's Spotlight on Intoxication Presumption, Heart Attack, Arising Out of Employment, and Death Benefits. Larson's surveys the latest case developments that you need to know about. Thomas A. Robinson, the staff writer for Larson's Workers'... Read More

Cost Containment From Soup to Nuts: Rebecca Shafer’s Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%, 2012 Edition
Posted on 4 Jan 2012 by Karen C. Yotis

By Karen C. Yotis, Esq. When a workers’ compensation maven of Rebecca Shafer’s caliber shares her expertise about implementing cost containment best practices, industry professionals can’t afford to do anything but listen. Likewise... Read More

National and State-by-State Workers' Comp News Roundup Powered by Larson's (8/27/2012)
Posted on 28 Aug 2012 by LexisNexis Workers' Comp Law Newsroom Staff

Sign up here for our free workers' compensation enewsletters (National or California Edition) to receive weekly news items. Be sure to select the enewsletter of your choice. NATIONAL NEWS: Workers Comp State Legislative Battles to Watch . CMS... Read More

California Workers' Comp Case Roundup (1/4/2014)
Posted on 4 Jan 2014 by California Compensation Cases Staff

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 78 No. 12 December 2013 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... Read More

Drug Formulary: California Expects Substantial Savings But What About Cost Shifting and Provider Behavior?
Posted on 20 Aug 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

By Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law Prescription drugs continue to be a significant contributor to the medical expenses segment of workers’ compensation claim costs, and drug formularies are... Read More

Utilization Rates as Primary Drivers of Workers’ Compensation Prescription Drug Costs
Posted on 5 Oct 2013 by John Stahl

NCCI Study Analyzes Medical Benefits Expenses Knowing that high prescription drug costs are a large component of the current challenges related to curbing workers’ compensation expenses is of limited value. Finding feasible methods to reduce... Read More

Thomas A. Robinson on Prescription Drugs and Workers’ Compensation
Posted on 24 Jul 2015 by Robin E. Kobayashi

Last week LexisNexis published an Emerging Issues Analysis article on prescription drugs and workers’ compensation written by Thomas A. Robinson, the co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law . The article examines opioid use,... Read More

New CWCI Study Looks at Independent Medical Review Outcomes in California Workers’ Comp
Posted on 25 Apr 2015 by California Workers' Compensation Institute

A new analysis of independent medical review decisions issued in 2014 suggests that the medical dispute resolution process mandated by the workers’ compensation reform bill enacted in 2012 is working to assure that the treatment provided to California... Read More

Florida Reforms Effectively Addressing Opioid Plague
Posted on 31 Jan 2014 by John Stahl

The topic of opioid abuse in workers’ compensation largely focuses on the causes and costs of that abuse to the effectiveness of the state-level reforms that address what some experts identify as a “plague.” Particularly alarming opioid... Read More

Alabama: Court Approves Award for Erectile Dysfunction Medication in Spite of Rule Limiting Such Awards
Posted on 11 Sep 2015 by Larson's Spotlight

An Alabama appellate court affirmed an award for a prescription medication in the form of a “time release” medication for erectile dysfunction that an employee contended was associated with his use of prescription narcotics to manage pain... Read More

CWCI Models Formulary’s Impact on California Workers’ Comp Prescription Drugs
Posted on 31 Aug 2016 by California Workers' Compensation Institute

Oakland – A new California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) study uses data from 1.2 million drug prescriptions dispensed to California injured workers in 2014 to model the impact of the draft Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule ... Read More

A Penny Saved Is a Penny Earned -- Does a Delaware Claimant Have the Right to Refuse Express Scripts?
Posted on 10 Oct 2011 by Cassandra Roberts

Right now the two books on our night stand were both written by finance guru and born-again Christian Dave Ramsey. Tom is reading The Total Money Makeover and I am engrossed in Financial Peace. Dave also created a money management series called Financial... Read More

NCCI Addresses Workers’ Compensation Prescription Drugs Costs
Posted on 20 Sep 2011 by LexisNexis Workers' Comp Law Newsroom Staff

Increased Utilization of Predominantly Expensive Drugs Fuel Cost Rise An August 2011 research brief by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) analyzed the trend of prescription drugs constituting a disproportionately high percentage... Read More