Recently, a panel of commissioners with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) addressed a medical treatment dispute where the question was what documentation had to be considered by the claims adjuster in reviewing a treatment request ( Ives v. DR...
A Kentucky appellate court held that pharmacies are “medical providers” for purposes of Rev. Stat. Ann. § 342.020(1). Accordingly, the injured worker’s right to choose his or her own medical provider extended to the selection of a pharmacy...
Here’s the first batch of advanced postings for the October 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 reserved...
Legislature did not demonstrate an intent to preclude employers from seeking UR of MPN physicians’ requests for authorization of medical treatment In Stock v. Camarillo State Hospital , 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS --, a WCAB panel held that the defendant’s...
The California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) has scheduled an online seminar for Thursday, September 18 to educate workers’ compensation claims and medical professionals, attorneys and other members of the community on revised regulations governing...
Karen C. Yotis, Esq., a Feature Resident Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter , provides insights into workplace issues and the nuts and bolts of the workers’ comp world. Is Hogenson Du(ing) an End Run Around Dubon? Is...
CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 79 No. 6 June 2014 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...
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 reserved...
Overlooked in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision in Valdez v WCAB 2013 Cal. LEXIS 8902 (Cal.) issued on November 14, 2013, in which the Supreme Court and before that, the Court of Appeals , rejected the WCAB’s attempt to impose an exclusionary rule...
Historical Perspective : Medical Provider Networks (MPN) came into being as part of the 2004 Workers’ Compensation Reform package set forth in Senate Bill 899. MPNs allowed employers to retain greater control over the medical treatment (MT) provided to...
By John Stahl, Esq. Countless studies and the experience of participants in workers’ compensation systems have shown that the prices for medical care within those systems far exceed the costs of comparable treatments in the general healthcare system. This statistical...
A California WCAB panel recently held that while liens may be disallowed for medical treatment procured outside the defendant's Medical Provider Network, the applicant himself is not personally liable to the lien claimants pursuant to Labor Code § 4605...
A new California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) “Injury Scorecard” on job injury claims identified as “other injuries, poisonings and toxic effects” finds that these claims often involve non-specific or ill-defined diagnoses;...
Treatment by network physicians is becoming increasingly prevalent in California workers’ compensation, with new data showing that nearly 80 percent of first-year physician-based outpatient medical services for 2010 California work injuries was provided by...
Here’s the third batch of advanced postings for the February 2013 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com subscribers can link to the cases to read the complete headnotes and summaries. © Copyright 2013 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. Miguel Robles...