Allow us to begin today’s blog with a question. Have you ever experienced the thrill of scratching off a winning California lottery ticket? A $5 winner alone would probably make a smile come to your face. Winning $50 would likely inspire multiple fist pumps. But how about winning $500? How exciting would that be? Our …
Lucky Bucks: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
As we well know, when a worker suffers an industrial accident, the worker may obtain workers’ compensation benefits from their employer, even if the employer was not at fault. And when the workers’ injuries are caused by a third party, the worker may also seek civil damages via a claim/lawsuit against the negligent tortfeasor. Also, …
Clandestine Litigation: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
Without a doubt the best way for an employer to control its workers’ compensation costs is to prevent accidents from occurring in the first place. An effective safety program is a proven means of protecting employees from injury while saving the employer thousands of dollars in insurance premiums. Various safety programs exist, mostly comprised of …
Preventing Claims: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
Do you know what a VCB lien is? Many claims professionals have never heard of it, yet under Labor Code 4309(i) it is one of several types of liens which arise in a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Our blog today will explain VCB liens and provide claims handling instructions, as VCB liens are not …
VCB Liens: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
It is a sad but unfortunate fact that catastrophic injuries resulting in serious injury or loss of life do occur in the workplace. Such tragedies are often investigated by Cal-OSHA and may even draw the attention of the local criminal prosecutor/district attorney should the incident be attributed to gross negligence. It is at this time …
Protecting the Employer: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
Allow us to begin today’s blog by asking a question. Are you aware that certain Labor Code sections have been determined to be unconstitutional? For example, the following two Code sections (which governed the payment of death benefits to the “estate” of a deceased employee) have been invalidated in court: LC 4702(a)(6)(A) LC 4702(a)(6)(B) On …
The intent of today’s blog is to offer guidance on what employers may do when applicant attorney requests a QME panel in a questionable medical specialty for a denied claim. It is not a revelation that workers who lack private health insurance but need medical care will file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits even …
Private Medical Reports: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
In a recent online publication, a private company announced that it had been 7,969 days since one of their employees had lost time work due to an industrial accident. Admittedly, that’s a safety record to both respect and be jealous of. Although many companies advertise their no lost time accomplishments, none have come close to …
Safety Awards: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
Whenever an injured worker’s third-party tort claim settles out of court, it is common for the injured worker and the civil defendant to join forces in a mutual attempt to defeat all workers’ compensation liens and credit rights. Some of the tactics used are ingenious. One such tactic is to classify the entire settlement as …
We are continuously bemused at the frequency with which a newly hired applicant attorney will attempt to replace a QME permissibly chosen when an applicant was unrepresented by counsel. The purpose of today’s blog is to warn our clients of the various tactics some applicant attorneys use to avoid a good defense QME report. There …
Replacing the QME: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
It is common knowledge that most applicant attorneys view Medical Provider Networks (MPNs) as a program created for the benefit of employers. As a result, applicant attorneys do not consider MPN physicians as being unbiased but rather, they believe them to be in “cahoots” with the employer to the detriment of injured workers. After all, …
Pre-Designation: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
California’s workers’ compensation system provides several legal presumptions that greatly impact benefit entitlement; however, notwithstanding that, some claims professionals are uncertain as to what a “presumption” is. A legal presumption is defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as “a legal inference, or assumption that a fact exits. It is based on the known or proven existence …
Legal Presumptions: A Sixty-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
