Beginning January 1, 2023, peace officers, fire fighters, and other qualified public servants in the State of California (and the attorneys who represent them) will have new tools to ensure that workers’ compensation claims administrators fairly and timely handle claims involving legal presumptions for these…
What is the Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit (SJDB) retraining Voucher A retraining voucher (formally a Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit or SJDB Voucher) is designed to help injured workers retrain for different careers or positions. It is not required in every case. It’s designed to cover…
What is a subpoena? A subpoena is a court order. Sometimes it is an order to be somewhere to testify. If we have a trial and there is a non-party witness (someone besides the injured worker or dependent or, on the other side, the employer/insurance…
As my partner Marc S. Wiesner outlined in a prior post, time missed at work due to a workplace injury is compensated by a benefit called Temporary Disability. Per California Labor Code §4653, this in generally calculated at 2/3rds of the injured workers Average Weekly…
In my first post, we covered issues that arise earlier in a case (AWW, TD, PTPs, WPI, RFAs, UR and IMR). Part II covered some of the common issues (and shorthand) that would come up later in a case (P&S, stips, C&R, MSA, F&A). Though…
I know, it’s mind-blowing, isn’t it? Your work comp doctor, who the insurance may have sent you to, requests treatment but the doctor tells you you have to wait. Why isn’t the treatment immediately available? Why can it be denied and you don’t hear about…
My earlier post covered issues that arise earlier in a case (AWW, TD, PTPs, WPI, RFAs, UR and IMR). Later in a case, you might encounter one or some of the following situations (with their associated acronyms): P&S—Permanent and Stationary A Permanent and Stationary (P&S)…
Imagine being injured so badly at work that your doctor tells you to stay home. Or, your doctor gives you work restrictions and your employer cannot meet them. You should get paid until you can return to your job or another job. Right? While that…
As with many things in law, the answer is, it depends. The more cynical answer is, yes, but the insurance controls the doctors on the list. So, how good is that list going to be? We call these lists Medical Provider Networks or MPNs. Each…
There are a few things injured workers should expect. Medical treatment and pay for time lost due to the injury among them. Often not expected, however, is the paperwork and regulations buried in a sea of acronyms. Here, we will discuss some of those acronyms…
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