| tips for stips & more |
What if Defendant "#1" and applicant agree to use an AME in a case, but Defendant "#2" does not. Will Defendant "#2" be bound by the findings of the AME it never agreed to use? These questions and more were answered in the recent Noteworthy Panel Decision of Lorenz v. Encino Hospital Medical Center, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 410. At the time of his first injury, Lawrence Lorenz was a 56-year-old x-ray technician who sustained three industrial injuries to his low back...read more. |
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slow taper of opioid usage: ur decisions must be consistent with the mtus |
In McCool v. Monterey Bay Medicar, the WCAB panel, in dicta, expressed serious concerns regarding the defendant's UR denial of the prescription medications Oxycontin, Norco and Lyrica to the applicant, as the UR reviewer claimed to base the denial on the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS), yet declared an abrupt halt to the applicant's long term opioid usage after quoting specific language in the MTUS regarding the risk of abruptly stopping opioid medications and recommending the "slow taper" of the medications under direct, ongoing...read more. |
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the profitability of the workers' compensation insurance industry |
John Burton's Workers' Compensation Resources Research Report analyzes the latest A.M. Best report
As explained in the November 2014 issue of Workers' Compensation Resources Research Report (WCRRR), the operating ratio is the "most comprehensive measure of underwriting results because it considers investment income." In order for the workers' compensation insurance industry to be profitable, the operating ratio must be less than 100. The operating ratio has decreased from 93.7 in 2012 to 82.9 in 2013, which means in 2013 "the industry earned $17.10 of profits for every $100 of net premiums." For the last 20 years, the workers' compensation insurance industry has been profitable each year except 2001, 2002 and 2011. WCRRR also examines for the first time the profitability of the workers' compensation industry at the state level using data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Order the WCRRR Nov. 2014 issue. |
Tips for Stips & More
PD Payable Retroactively 14 Days After Last Payment of 4850 Benefits: Cal. Comp. Cases November Advanced Postings (11/12/2014). Lexis.com and Lexis Advance subscribers can 