A short text message sent only to a physician, and not to opposing counsel, notifying the doctor that his upcoming deposition would address claimant’s schedule loss of use, was not the sort of ex parte communication that gave the appearance of impropriety or improper...
By Karen C. Yotis, Feature Resident Columnist, LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter Before the blogs and newswires start posting their usual “boy, wasn’t that something” year-in-review stuff, I thought it would be an interesting...
Are reform efforts aimed at controlling the costs of physician-dispensed drugs having the desired effect? It appears not, at least in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Tennessee. In recent years, at least 20 states have made legislative or regulatory...
Does Labor Code § 4604.5(a) specifically require the treating physician’s report to cite the applicable Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule provisions? In Sandoval v. San Diego Unified School District , 2016 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS --, the WCAB, affirming...
A dictated statement by a treating physician that became part of the injured worker’s claim file that said the worker had communicated threats to the physician, through an interpreter, and that the physician considered the worker to be a threat to both the physician...
While employer control reduces medical costs, allowing employees a one-time change in physician may not be as expensive as employers fear By Thomas A. Robinson, co-author, Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law According to a recent study published in the Journal...
An employer has no right to request a change of an injured employee’s attending physician under the District of Columbia’s Workers’ Compensation Act, held a D.C. appellate court. The Office of Workers’ Compensation initially granted the employer’s request, but...
A Connecticut court affirmed the finding of the commissioner that various medications prescribed by the plaintiff’s treating physician for a head injury that occurred some 18 years earlier were palliative rather than curative, and thus were not reasonable...
A significant proportion of physician-dispensed strong opioids may not have been necessary at all Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter , is a leading commentator and expert on the...
The United States Supreme Court has denied review of the Sixth Circuit’s en banc decision in Jackson v. Sedwick Claims Mngmt. Servs . [731 F.3d 556 (6 th Cir. 2013)]. Readers will recall that the Jackson case, which questions whether an injured employee may recover...
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 the overall...
By John Stahl, Esq. Any first-semester political science major can tell you that government regulation is a common method for controlling what a business can charge for goods or services. Fee schedules provide this price control regarding workers’ compensation...
By John Stahl, Esq. The fact that many workers’ compensation claimants obtained prescription drugs directly from physicians was not the problem; the primary issue was that these medical professionals often charged much more than a pharmacy for the same...
When it rains it pours... Having just issued an en banc decision yesterday on QME panel issues, the W.C.A.B. has just issued its 3rd Reconsideration decision in Valdez v Warehouse Demo Services . The original decision issued in April 2011 holding reports obtained...
Sergio Oseguera v. Links Communications Medical-Legal Procedure—Independent Medical Examiners—Communications—WCAB held that reporting of "regular physician" appointed by WCJ pursuant to Labor Code § 5701 to examine applicant/cable installer with 5/26...