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Vol. 4, Issue 38

Find Solutions & Strategies                      September 23, 2013

Earnings LossesReturn to Work Fund and the RAND Study
 
Inching our way to eligibility standards
In This Issue
* RTWF & RAND STUDY
*RASSP & HERLICK: WCAB Jurisdiction & Settlements
* PHYSICIAN DISPENSING
* LAW360 NEWS
* CALIF. NEWS: Final QME regs
* NEWSROOM BLOGS: Lien activation fee, WC fraud
* NEW JOB POSTING
* eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

Lawyer's Guide to AMA Guides

    

Purchase here.

 

 A Note From the Editor

  Robin Kobayashi 2010   

Dear Work Comp Community:     

 

Thank you to Robert G. Rassp, Esq. for taking the time to deconstruct the RAND working paper for his upcoming edition of the Lawyer's Guide
  
To receive our free eNewsletter, sign up here.

 

Sincerely,

Robin E. Kobayashi, J.D.
LexisNexis Legal & Professional Operations

WorkCompCentral Education

WorkCompCentral Education thumbnail 

 

SB 863 Revised Statutes

& New Regs Explained

 

With Judge Colleen Casey

 

 

Attorneys are invited to attend a joint session with physicians prepping for the QME exam

 

Sept. 28, Oakland 

Call 805-484-0333

    
return to work fund & rand study

Robert Rassp grayThe Return to Work Fund and the RAND Study: Inching Our  Way to Eligibility Standards, by Robert G. Rassp, Esq. As part of the comprehensive workers' compensation reform in SB 863 that was signed into law by Governor Edmund G. Brown on September 18, 2012, the legislature passed a provision in the Labor Code, section 139.48, that provides an annual fund of $120,000,000.00 from which eligible injured workers may receive money that compensates them in cases where there is a disproportional difference between their permanent disability ratings and their loss of future earning capacity. How is this fund going to be established, who pays for it, who administers it, how will it be implemented, and what role, if any, will attorneys have in representing or defending claims for these benefits? Read more.

 

This article is excerpted from the upcoming 2014 edition of The Lawyer's Guide to the AMA Guides and California Workers' Compensation.
Rassp & Herlick panel decision alert: wcab jurisdiction and settlements
80117 thumbnailThis noteworthy panel decision will soon be added to the LexisNexis services. This panel decision alert is brought to you by Rassp & Herlick, California Workers' Compensation Law.
  
WCAB Jurisdiction; Disbursement of Third Party Settlement Funds. WCAB, reversing WCJ, held that WCAB had jurisdiction to adjudicate apportionment of applicant/labor foreman's third-party settlement proceeds received in connection with 9/25/2007 industrial hip and lumbar spine injury, including any issues of employer fault and attorney's fees and expenses, when WCAB found that (1) although LC 3850 et seq. contain an exception for reimbursement claims against third parties to default rule of exclusive WCAB jurisdiction over any issue "arising out of or incidental" to recovery of compensation as set forth in LC 5300, there is no authority to support principle that WCAB does not have jurisdiction, at least concurrent, to determine proper distribution of third-party settlement proceeds, (2) pursuant to...read more
wcri study examines california & other states physician dispensing
Pill packagesImpact of Reform on Prevalence/Costs of Physician-Dispensed Drugs: Study Shows Promising Results Overall of Amending Reimbursement Rates, by John Stahl, Esq. Enhancing the regulation of physician-dispensed drugs is one tactic that workers' compensation jurisdictions use in the war against the opioid epidemic that is costing workers' compensation systems millions of dollars. These methods include severely limiting the ability of a medical-care provider to dispense opioids and other prescription medications from his or her office and amending reimbursement rates under fee schedules to reduce financial incentives to operate these "pill mills." Read it.
law360 news headlines
california news headlines
lexisnexis legal newsroom blogs

Cal Comp CasesLien Activation Fee En Banc Denied Writ of Review: Cal. Comp. Cases Advance Postings. Lexis online subscribers can read it.  

    
  
  
  
Fraud SignWorkers' Comp Fraud Blotter: Teaching Martial Arts While Collecting Disability. Read it and other news items.
jurisdiction, cont.
JurisHughes v. Argonaut Ins. Co. (2001) 88 Cal. App. 4th 517, 66 Cal. Comp. Cases 454, absent contrary statutory authority in Division 4 of Labor Code, WCAB has exclusive jurisdiction pursuant to LC 5300 over how to apportion contested amount of a third-party settlement, (3) WCJ's reliance on LC 3860(f) to find no jurisdiction was misplaced as LC 3860(f) primarily addresses how to apportion settlement proceeds based on employer fault rather than amount of expenses and attorney's fees to deduct from settlement, and LC 3860(f) does not vest exclusive jurisdiction over these issues in superior court, and (4) superior court declined to exercise jurisdiction over settlement distribution in this case, leaving WCAB as only forum for parties to adjudicate issue. See Carrabello decision.
new job posting

New ButtonDepartment of Industrial Relations (DIR) $4,674 to $10,477/month DOE Litigate a variety of labor and employment matters at admin. and civil trial and appellate levels including, workers' comp., prevailing wage/public works, and public employment. Travel throughout SoCal may be required. Send a State Application (Form STD 678) with a resume and 2 recent writing samples to: DIR, Office of the Director - Legal Unit, Attn: Hiring Coordinator, 320 W. 4th Street, Ste. 600, Los Angeles, CA 90013, Or by email to [email protected]

enewsletter archives

ArchivesTake a deep dive into our past eNewsletters for 2013 and prior...warning - some links to articles may not work...report any linking problems to [email protected].

September 16, 2013: Radical/Diametrical Change in Apportionment Law.
September 9, 2013: AMA Guides Hot Topics.
August 12, 2013: UR and the Five Days Rules.
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