CalWorkersComp.Blog
WCABDWCAyala, Juan v. CEJA-REYES; MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE GROUP ()Public hearing: Medical Provider Network Regulations ()

Entries for 2004/02/16 — 2005-05-15


News from around the internet (archived) 1:13AM
BulletCalifornia Division of Workers' Compensation Announces Appointment of Court Administrator (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) (link unavailable). The California Division of Workers' Compensation announced the appointment of an administrator to oversee the workers' compensation court system. Gov. Schwarzenegger appointed Keven Star of Elk Grove to the position of DWC court administrator May 12.

BulletLabor Commissioner Busts Auto Body Shops: No Workers' Compensation Insurance (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) (archived). The California Department of Industrial Relations' Divisions of Labor Standards Enforcement and Occupational Safety and Health , in cooperation with the Department of Insurance , and the Sacramento and Yolo County District Attorney's Offices today released information on violations found in a two day enforcement sweep of auto body shops in Sacramento and Yolo Counties.

BulletElk Grove man to oversee workers' comp court (BizJournals) (link unavailable). Kevin Star, an Elk Grove attorney who has worked on workers' compensation cases and insurance fraud with the Sacramento district attorney's office, has been appointed as the first administrator of the workers' compensation court system, the state announced Friday.

One of the proposed "fixes"...

Quoting Daniel Weintraub of the Sacramento Bee (link unavailable):
"Among the possible fixes: Eliminate permanent disability payments for injuries that cannot be objectively measured (that's Schwarzenegger's proposal). Or base such payments only on the documented diminished ability to work. Or drop the dueling doctors and go straight to a neutral third party."
 
In other words cut down the award that an injured worker receives. It's not enough that a worker has to survive on 2/3 of their average earnings during medical treatment, they have to have an "objective" injury, such as an amputated hand! Most work injuries are to the back, causing constant pain. Payments for these injuries would be eliminated under the proposed "reforms".
 
No doubt there will be great savings to employers since most workers will receive little compensation, if any. The fact that a worker may need to change careers will not be taken into account, as long as they can perform a "given" job.  Eliminating "dueling" doctors might be a good idea, if a truly "neutral" doctor could be found. However, a neutral third party, who is not a doctor cannot do justice to the real medical problems that workers face.
 
 
> posted by Charles Wear > 2/16/04; 12:43:56 AM      Comment [0] (link unavailable)