Attorneys representing Applied Underwriters’ California Insurance Company and the California Department of Insurance faced steady pushback by a panel of justices as the First District Court of Appeal heard arguments …
In a case where an employee was fired for violating a workplace safety rule, the Second District Court of Appeal sustained a lower court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the employer in a discrimination lawsuit by a former employee. The employee had been fired once before but was back working under a “last …
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal members voted to reject a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc by the convicted head of a workers’ comp bribery scheme that generated $263 million in fraudulent claims for MRI services. Sam Solakyan filed the petition after the Ninth Circuit affirmed all counts of his conviction last fall. …
Last week, the State Bar Court of California lifted a November 22nd order temporarily suspending Matthew Rifat’s license to practice law following his guilty plea to a single Penal Code section 549 violation. The court belatedly granted his motion to stay the interim suspension while the State Bar works to determine whether the conviction constituted …
The California Supreme Court held oral arguments last week in a case challenging a Fourth District decision holding that the 50% bump up in indemnity benefits under Labor Code section 4553 does not apply to industrial disability leave (IDL). The lower court held that the 4850 time that some state workers receive in lieu of …
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal says an injured longshoreman with hearing loss in one ear and bilateral tinnitus is only due benefits for the actual loss of hearing suffered on the job and cannot obtain a bilateral rating under the AMA Guides. However, the court left unanswered the question of whether the worker’s tinnitus …
The Second District Court of Appeal ordered a new trial in Terrence Richard’s negligence lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad company after being injured in a fall from the train where he was working as a brakeman. The second time around Richards will also be able to call his expert witness who was originally blocked from …