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 […]
Can an employee receive compensation for a psychiatric claim if the injury resulted from the termination of his employment? What if the psychiatric injury was due to another form of discipline? Courts struggled with this issue prior to the enactment of Labor Code Section 3208.3. Some decisions found that such injuries were related to the […]
California employers are required to provide no-fault work injury insurance to their employees. If an injured worker files a claim, a claims administrator has a responsibility to make an initial decision within 90 days. If they fail to accept or deny the workers’ compensation claim before the deadline expires, they are liable by default. This […]
Surveillance footage leads to charges against Madera woman for workers’ compensation fraud: News: 2021 Press Release For Release: March 12, 2021 Surveillance footage leads to charges against Madera woman for workers’ compensation fraud. FRESNO, Calif. — Veronica Catalina Cortes-Ambrosio, 53, of Madera, was charged on two felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly lying about […]
Imagine that you fired or laid off an employee. A few months later, you receive notice that the former employee has filed a workers’ compensation claim. Can they really do that? The short answer is ‘yes’—and it happens far more often than most people realize. At the same time, not all claims filed after termination […]
Under California Labor Code Section 4800, certain frontline workers—including police officers, firefighters, and other public safety personnel—are entitled to additional legal protection in the event that they suffer a job-related injury. Referred both as “Labor Code Section 4850 benefits” and “Labor Code Section 4850 Time,” this special provision allows qualifying employees to receive their full […]
Every seasoned workers’ compensation attorney knows that the specialty of the Panel Qualified Medical Evaluator has a significant impact on a claim. Once an applicant’s claim requires the use of a medical-legal evaluator, certain rules must be followed. In order to initiate the medical evaluation process, we must first look to see if the applicant […]
