The concept of accumulative trauma is quite simple, but it can lead to some very difficult litigation. It’s quite easy to understand how a delivery driver develops low back pain over time, or after working an extensive holiday season with lots of overtime. There is no specific event involved, but the injury is clearly work […]

Workers compensation cases in Mendocino County are typically filed in Santa Rosa. However, there are some filings in Eureka, which is a virtual WCAB and in Ukiah, which is a formal court a few times a month if someone has venued their case there. Before the WCAB allowed telephonic appearances, it was convenient to have

(1) The administrative director acted without or in excess of the administrative director’s powers. (2) The determination of the administrative director was procured by fraud. (3) The independent medical reviewer was subject to a material conflict of interest that is in violation of Section 139.5. (4) The determination was the result of bias on the

Workers Compensation has many legal concepts that make it different from most courts, but perhaps one of the most complex is the exclusive remedy rule. In other words, why can’t I sue my negligent employer for pain and suffering when I get injured on the job? This is something I hear quite often, a request

Because the final report of a Panel QME is so important to the outcome of a workers compensation case, the amount of litigation concerning selection of the Panel QME is astounding. Labor Code Section 4602.2 outlines the rules for obtaining a Panel QME. Either party, applicant or carrier, can request a Panel QME. Under Labor

Post Termination Claims One of the cases I see often it is a “post termination” claim, or a case where the employee doesn’t file a claim for workers compensation benefits until after they are terminated. To protect employers from retaliation claims legislation was included in Labor Code 3600, which wraps a bunch of exceptions into

Compensable Consequences in California workers compensation. A compensable consequence in California workers compensation is the addition of an another body part that was not originally claimed in the original DWC-2 or workers compensation claim form. From a litigation perspective these can be difficult as they may not be present or are over looked in the

Utilization Review and California workers compensation Utilization Review (UR) regulates medical treatment in California workers compensation cases. It effectively removes litigation of treatment disputes from the Workers Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). Under current statutes all requests for medical treatment must be sent to Utilization Review unless the adjusting agency approves the treatment request outright. If