Workers' Compensation

Recent Posts

Nebraska: Injured Employee Fails to Show Spinal Cord Stimulator Is Necessary Medical Expense
Posted on 8 Jan 2016 by Larson's Spotlight

An employer need not pay the cost of supplying an injured employee with a spinal cord stimulator where both the employee’s testimony and that of the employer’s medical experts indicated the stimulator did not alleviate the pain associated... Read More

Research on Risks, Effectiveness of Long-Term Opioid Pain Therapy Given a Failing Grade
Posted on 4 Mar 2015 by Roger Rabb

Roger Rabb, J.D., Special Correspondent for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter As physicians continue to prescribe opioids such as Vicodin, OxyContin, and codeine to help patients with chronic pain, there is a growing concern that... Read More

Pain in the Heartland
Posted on 5 May 2014 by Robin E. Kobayashi

Far too often we hear about pill mill doctors who are shut down or even arrested. Rachel Aviv’s article “ Prescription for Disaster ” ( The New Yorker , May 5, 2014) (subscription only) provides insight into the disturbing details of... Read More

Up in Smoke: How Employers Are Using Disclosures in Medical Marijuana Cards to Defeat Claims for Workers’ Compensation
Posted on 14 Dec 2011 by Robin E. Kobayashi

Employers are scoring victories by using injured workers’ disclosures in their medical marijuana cards to help defeat claims for workers’ compensation benefits. Note: Trial level decisions, while not binding authority, often deal with cutting... Read More

Oh, the Pain of Inadequacy: Chiropractor Trumps Doctor in this Delaware Utilization Review Appeal
Posted on 13 Dec 2011 by Cassandra Roberts

Today's post comes to us from Walt Schmittinger, offering up the outcome of a UR appeals case tried to the Board in Milford two weeks ago. The appeal was from a UR non-cert of chiropractic care with Dr. Michael Gandolfo. Here is what Walt had to say... Read More

Medical Marijuana Use as An Alternative to Opioid Use for Relief of Chronic Pain
Posted on 22 Aug 2016 by Roger Rabb

A Michigan Survey Suggests That Medical Marijuana Patients Are Decreasing Opioid Use to Treat Chronic Pain Two topics that have received a great deal of attention in recent years regarding the medical treatment of chronic pain have been the use and... Read More

Strong Correlation Between Nonopoid Substance Abuse Disorders and Therapeutic Opioid Addiction
Posted on 7 Mar 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

Patients with such disorders 28 times more likely to become addicted to opioids Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter , is a leading commentator and expert on the law of... Read More

Pain Disorders and the New DSM-5
Posted on 1 Aug 2013 by Robert G. Rassp, Esq.

By Robert G. Rassp. Esq. “Pain is relevant to mental impairment, since mental illness may change the perception of pain, for example, making it the object of an obsession or a somatic (bodily) expression of an emotional problem. However, it can... Read More

100th Anniversary of New York Workers’ Compensation Law
Posted on 18 Apr 2014 by Ronald Balter

By Ronald E. Weiss, Esq. and Ronald Balter, Esq. 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the enactment of New York’s Workers’ (then Workmens’) Compensation Law. It is well known that the death of so many workers in the horrific Triangle... Read More

IAIABC Policy Guide on Reducing Opioid Abuse Offers Blueprint for Effective Reform
Posted on 8 Sep 2013 by John Stahl

The bad news is that opioid abuse related to treating chronic pain remains a serious problem for every workers’ compensation system participant. The good news is that many workers’ compensation jurisdictions are increasing their efforts to... Read More

Survey Says Regulators Must Be More Assertive Regarding Opioid Use
Posted on 16 Dec 2013 by John Stahl

By John Stahl, Esq. A November 12, 2013 webinar that peer review and drug management firm CID Management of Westlake Village, California sponsored summarized the results of a CID survey of front-line employees and executives in the workers’ compensation... Read More

Medicare Secondary Payer Law: 2013 in Review
Posted on 11 Jan 2014 by Jennifer Jordan

I have come to realize that there are no easy solutions for the MSP problems we face in claims because the MSP is not the problem. Our MSP issues are collateral damage of more systemic societal problems we face as a nation. We clearly do not know how... Read More

California: Opioid Medications in the Treatment of Work-Related Injuries
Posted on 1 Oct 2014 by Calif. WCAB Noteworthy Panel Decisions Reporter

According to the Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker, “ opioid misuse is a national concern ”. As a result of this “misuse”, the Division of Workers’ Compensation recently posted proposed “ Guidelines... Read More

Opioids – The Grand Debate
Posted on 8 Jan 2015 by Robert G. Rassp, Esq.

An examination of ACOEM’s newly revised opioid practice guidelines for treatment of pain By Robert G. Rassp, Esq. We hate statistics but policymakers can’t live without them. For example, 100 million residents of the United States... Read More