California Worker's Compensation : Injured Workers need a lawyer... — 2005-05-16

News from around the internet (archived)		2:42PM

California 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. Labor 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. Piedmont civic leader seeks Chan's job (InsideBayArea) (link unavailable). PIEDMONT — Attorney Ronnie Caplane has been a dedicated mother, Piedmont School Board president, a Workers' Compensation Appeals Board commissioner, an outspoken grieving widow and Assemblywoman Wilma Chan's "Woman of the Year.

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Injured Workers need a lawyer...

topic started 4/12/2005; 9:41:52 AM
last post 4/12/2005; 9:41:52 AM

Charles Wear - Injured Workers need a lawyer...

4/12/2005; 6:41:52 AM (reads: 120, responses: 0)

Injured Workers need a lawyer...by Charles R. Wear

Some say that since the workers' compensation system has been reformed that injured workers will not need an attorney to help with their claim. Nothing could be further from the actual situation. The following are the top ___ reasons that injured workers need lawyers.

The employer controls the medical treatment. For injuries after January 1, 2005, if the employer is a member of a medical provider network, the injured worker does not have the right to change physicians, except within the network. Many injured workers will not receive the medical treatment they need to cure or relieve from the effects of their injury. Many will be returned to work too early. The appeals system for this type of medical dispute is complicated. Workers' compensation attorneys can help an injured worker navigate this process.

Utilization review and the application of guidelines delay and deny approval for needed medical treatment. The initiation of utilization review procedures, where medical practitioners make decision approving or denying treatment based on treatment guidelines, have caused numerous delays in treatment. Once again, an attorney who understand these procedures can assist the injured worker in obtaining necessary medical treatment.

The value of a case will depend on the final medical evaluation. It is likely that the award of permanent disability benefits will depend on the evaluation of an agreed medical evaluator or a qualified medical evaluator chosen by a panel. Only represented workers can use an agreed medical evaluator, a doctor chosen because of his reputation for fairness and neutrality. Unrepresented workers must utilize the panel qualified medical evaluator process and choose a doctor from a list chosen by the State. The panel doctors will be unfamiliar to the unrepresented worker. The guidance of an experienced attorney can be invaluable in this process.

In summary, the recent changes in the workers' compensation laws in California have made the process even more complicated. Only an experienced attorney can help fight for the rights of an injured worker to obtain the benefits the system was designed to deliver.