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The emergence of the Delta variant carries implications for California’s workers’ compensation market that workers’ compensation practitioners may want to take note of. California’s success in getting more than 63% of its population quickly vaccinated…
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When analyzing whether one is liable for temporary disability benefits, it’s important for adjusters to remember that the state Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Valdez v. WCAB stated that non-MPN reports are still admissible for purposes of…
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The Assembly Insurance Committee failed to pass Senate Bill 335’s proposal to reduce the 90-day decision timeframe during its July 13 meeting. The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Dan Cortese (D-San Jose), would have…
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After taking more than 2,000 depositions over 25 years, I have realized that the essential questions and strategy are normally not employed until it is too late. Many applicant’s attorneys refuse to allow a second…
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With Governor Newsom’s grand reopening of the state of California on June 15, 2021, new questions are being raised for the returning workforce, with the most notable question being whether employers will be allowed to…
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One of the most common complaints that arise in the life of a worker’s compensation case, from a defense perspective, is applicants requesting additional QME panels. Additional panels increase permanent disability exposure and escalate litigation…
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Unprecedented times call for unprecedented action. Two weeks after California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board issued its first of seven…
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After a year of pandemic-related shutdowns, California’s gradual reopening has been carrying gargantuan implications for the state’s workers’ compensation stakeholders.

Strategic consolidations have become more common in the California workers’ compensation system in recent years, prompting defendants to weigh the pros and cons of consolidated litigation.

A bill that would reduce the decision timeframe to accept or deny most claims down to a 45-day timeframe is perhaps the most controversial bill of the 2021 legislative session, but has a long ways to go before it could be signed into law.