A Fire Captain with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) sought authority for radio frequency ablation to treat an accepted injury to his back. The applicant’s first request for treatment was…
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by Nathan E. Nissim –  Sometimes even the best applicants’ attorneys are confronted with primary treating physician opinions that can be quite detrimental to their client, such as when that physician gives a nonindustrial diagnosis and…
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by George B. Tihin –  A 33-year-old panel decision is useful in knocking down unreasonable requests for Labor Code 5710 fees by faraway applicant’s attorneys opting not to hire a local contract attorney to take a…
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by Jaskaran S. Gill –  We have all learned the importance of obtaining a Qualified Medical Examiner in a desirable specialty before an applicant’s attorney seeks a more liberal panel in chiropractic medicine or other less…
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California’s current rules and regulations already contain an existing interpreter fee schedule and interpreters who fail to request a second review of carriers’ explanations of review risk dismissal, according to a new published decision from…
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Have you ever considered just what the phrase “total knee replacement” means? It seems so self-explanatory that any answer must be “well, it means the whole knee has been replaced.” In reality, we should rename…
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The impact of California’s new legislation aimed at changing how workers are classified will be met with resistance from some of the state’s top tech companies, and ultimately a ballot initiative that could be the…
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Defendants need to keep reports about the potentially damaging side effects of vaping in mind during the discovery process in cases with allegations of respiratory illness. In the significant minority of cases involves breathing problems…
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Following the 2013 decision in Kite v. Athens Administrators (2013) 78 CCC 213 (writ denied), applicant’s attorneys have attempted to take full advantage of this method of increasing total permanent disability ratings without increasing the…
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One of the unique quirks of California workers’ compensation law is that insurance carriers cannot subrogate against medical malpractice lawsuits. The issue is codified in California Civil Code section 3333.1, which states in relevant part…
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