Due to the nature of certain industrial injuries, there are times during the life of a workers’ compensation claim when an injured worker may require QME examinations by physicians specializing in different fields of medicine. For example, a worker with alleged foot, ear and heart injuries will probably require evaluations by a podiatrist, otologist, and …
Requesting an Additional QME: A 60-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
Sadly, even though opioid prescriptions have significantly decreased over the past two years, the number of drug overdose deaths occurring in the United States each year are at epidemic levels. Overdose death attributed to prescription drugs in 2019 was recorded at a staggering 70,639. In 2020 the number of deaths increased to 91,799, then to …
Accidental Drug Overdoses: A 60-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
Although several states do not recognize the compensability of psychiatric injury claims, here in California mental injuries have long been an integral part of our workers’ compensation system. The medical authority used in California to diagnose psychiatric injury and disability is the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale, found in Axis V (aka Chapter 5) …
GAF Scores: A 60-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
There are times when an unrepresented injured worker vehemently disagrees with the findings of a Qualified Medical Evaluator’s (QME), and as a result, the worker seeks legal representation in hope of somehow setting aside the examination report. The purpose of today’s blog is to explain what some applicant attorneys do to throw out a QME …
Throwing out a QME Report: A 60-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
It is common practice for applicant attorneys to file two applications for adjudication on behalf of an injured worker even when only one body part has been impacted. The first claim will identify a specific date of injury while the other will be for a continuous trauma to the same body part. It happens all …
Companion CT Claims: A 60-Second Seminar in Workers’ Compensation Claims HandlingRead More
In today’s blog we will explain a legal tactic used by applicants’ bar for over 30 years that has needlessly cost employers untold amounts of money. It is our sincere desire to put an end to this maneuver by bringing it to the attention of the workers’ compensation defense community. In September 1994 Governor Pete …
When dealing with a cumulative trauma claim involving multiple employers, an injured worker has the right to elect the employer they wish to proceed against. Alternatively, when multiple insurance companies provide coverage to a single employer over the time frame of a CT injury, the injured worker may elect one carrier as the primary defendant. …
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
