In a recent decision, the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) ordered the reconsideration of a denied workers’ compensation claim involving a case of advanced Valley Fever, also known as disseminated coccidioidomycosis. This decision underscores the complexities of proving workplace-related illnesses and the importance of comprehensive evidence and expert testimony. Case Background The case involves […]
In California, employers are required to carry no-fault workers’ compensation insurance coverage for their employees. If a person is hurt on the job, they can file for benefits. However, California Labor Code § 3208.3(d) states that employers cannot be held liable through a workers’ compensation claim for a “psychiatric injury” of an employee who has […]
An employee who is injured on the job has the right to file for workers’ compensation benefits. They cannot be punished for doing so. Indeed, even if an employer believes that a worker is filing a false claim, retaliation should be avoided. Under California Labor Code § 132(a), an employer that engaged in retaliation can […]
In an important decision safeguarding employee medical privacy rights, a panel of the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board granted a petition for removal and rescinded a judge’s order requiring an injured worker to disclose her complete 10-year medical treatment history. The case involved Jennifer Reveles, an employee who suffered a workplace injury while employed by […]
In a 2023 panel case Richard Beck v. Cal Trans, State Compensation Insurance Fund, 2023 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 248, involving a 58-year-old heavy equipment operator who suffered a hand and wrist injury in 2012, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) denied the defendant’s petition for the extraordinary remedy of removal after a judge […]
In California workers’ compensation cases, there is a principle known as the “initial physical aggressor” defense that can prevent an employee from receiving benefits for injuries sustained due to physical altercations. This defense applies when the injured employee was the initial physical aggressor in starting an incident through assaultive or provocative words or conduct. The […]
