On February 3, 2021, the California Department of Insurance announced workers’ compensation fraud charges against a Kern County man accused of bilking an insurance company. According to the allegations raised by the agency, this man unlawfully failed to disclose a previous work-related injury in an effort to collect workers’ compensation benefits that he did not […]
As described by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), Qualified Medical Evaluators (QMEs) are trained physicians who have been certified by our state’s Division of Workers’ Compensation to examine and evaluate injured workers. In general, QMEs are brought in to resolve outstanding questions about the nature/severity of an employee’s injury. All parties to a […]
California employers are required to provide no-fault workers’ compensation benefits to their workers. State-mandated workers’ compensation insurance must offer coverage for two distinct injuries — specific and cumulative trauma. Whereas a specific injury is linked to an accident, cumulative trauma develops gradually over time. For several different reasons, cumulative trauma claims are complicated. One way […]
In January, State Senator Dave Cortese (D-Santa Clara County) and State Assembly member Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) introduced Senate Bill 213 (SB-213) in the California State Legislature. If passed into law, the bill would rewrite the state’s Labor Code to create a new “rebuttable presumption” that certain injuries, illnesses, and ailments that develop or manifest […]
In October of 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill No. 542 into law. A workers’ compensation reform bill, the legislation created a rebuttable presumption that certain public safety employees diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a compensable industrial injury. Here, our California workers’ compensation defense attorneys provide a more comprehensive explanation of […]
With the enaction of California Labor Code Sections 4663 and 4664 within SB 899 in 2004, the law regarding apportionment was radically changed. The transition has not always been a smooth one and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board has been issuing decisions ever since in an attempt to define what apportionment is and to clarify […]
