Current Newsletters

REVIEW OF MEDICAL CARE

The California Workers’ Compensation system developed as a result of a bargain entered into between employers and em­ployees in the early 1900s. The bargain was that em­ployers would provide medical care for injured workers to cure and relieve the effects of their injuries in exchange for some limitations on the com­pensation for loss of earning capacity. The California Constitution, Article 14, Section 4, specifically delineates that the...

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GHOST DOCTORS AND THEIR ROLE AS A JUDGE

JUSTICE The California Constitution (Article 14, Section 4) sets forth the workers’ compensation system and LC §4600 is to provide for a complete medical treatment system to cure or relieve the effects of the worker’s injuries. This treatment shall be provided by the employer. CHECKS & BALANCE The workers compensation system had a Checks and Balance System which was lost by Senate Bill 899. This System was to protect the worker’s rights to...

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IMMUNITY FROM COVID-19 VACCINATION; IMMUNITY AFTER RECOVERING FROM COVID-19?

On October 22, 2021, a judge in Kern County determined that the power of the State is such that it can mandate vaccinations for certain employees.  The judge stated that the Court was not in a position to dictate which and when such steps should be ad­dressed by the State to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.  This finding is similar to litigation in other states enforcing the vaccination mandate through either executive order or legislation to...

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PTSD PRESUMPTION; 90-DAY RULE SHOULD BE REDUCED TO 30 DAYS & REMOVE THE EXPIRATION DATE OF 1/1/2025

Timelines are established for employers to determine whether a worker’s injury or medical condition is work-related.  These timelines are set forth pursuant to labor Code §5402, which provides that once an employer has knowledge of an injury or medical condition which is claimed to be job-related, the employer has 90 days to do studies and investigations to either validate or take issue with the in­jured wor­ker’s claim. After 90 days from the...

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MUTUAL EQUALITY

The California Workers’ Compensation system is designed to provide benefits to in­jured workers in the form of: Medical care to cure or relieve the effects of a work-related injury. Payments in the form of tem­po­­rary dis­ability benefits.  (And for safety workers: Compensation for wage loss in the form of payments pursuant to Labor Code §4850 or §4800.5.) Compensation for irreversible residual harm (i.e., Per­manent...

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CATASTROPHIC EVENTS & ARTIFICIAL LIMITS

In certain catastrophic accidents, artificial compensation limits have been placed on the dri­ver, family members and/or passengers in the vehicle which has been struck.  These arti­fi­cial limits are $15,000.00 per driver or passenger for injury or death to one or more persons, with a total limit of $30,000.00 for all individuals in the vehicle.  While these limits provide some compensation, they do not protect injured drivers, their...

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THE LATEST COVID THREAT: COMORBIDITY

The continuation of COVID has resulted in a greater understanding of the medical phraseology which defines developments which result from the impact of COVID-19 on prior existing medical problems, as well as problems which develop subsequent to the finding of COVID-19.  Comorbidity, defined as “the simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient” comes into play when COVID impacts either an underlying medical...

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COVID/LONG HAULERS/LONG COVID

In two of my previous Law1199.com Newsletters — 2020 Issues 8 and 14 — I discussed the long-term impact of COVID and the fact that con­ditions associated with the virus may continue even after a change in symp­tom­atology to the point where individuals who have been infected believe they are once again functioning at a higher level. On March 23, 2021, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman pro­posed leg­is­­­lation (effec­tive only in the state of...

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FIVE YEARS TO OBTAIN MORE JUSTICE; NO TIME LIMIT ON MEDICAL CARE

Two factors occurring with job-related injuries are the level of impairment and the need for medical care.  The level of impairment is determined by medical opinions and com­paring the objective findings (i.e., test results) with the sub­­­jective complaints of the patient using a schedule which has been created to produce this measurement.  Once the level of impairment has been determined, a worker has five years from the date of...

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PROPOSED LEGISLATION WILL HELP TO CORRECT SOME OF THE WRONGS REGARDING ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE

New legislation — AB 1465 — provides some important corrections to SB 899 and its harm¬ful limitations designed to restrict workers’ access to medical care. AB 1465 expands access to more doctors outside the employer-controlled medical groups, and establishes the California Medical Provider Network (CMPN), allowing access to doctors outside the employer-controlled MPN. It also removes employers’ ability to economically profile their selected...

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