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Framing the Coming Cumulative Trauma Reform Debates

Employer and labor representatives, legislators, researchers, and practitioners met at a Commission on Health, Safety and Workers’ Compensation-convened meeting to discuss and debate cumulative trauma claims in California’s workers’ comp system. The issue will be central to negotiations over comprehensive workers’ comp reform set for the coming legislative session. CHSWC Chair Nick Roxborough organized the … Read More »

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CT Claims Surge Defies Easy Explanations

New industry research shows that one out of every six workers’ comp claims filed in California in 2025 was for a cumulative trauma injury. The trend is clear compared with 2018, when the rate was one out of every 11 claims. An analysis by the California Workers’ Compensation Institute notes that the trend is accelerating … Read More »

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Startling Explosion Of CT Claims

It’s the horrors of the 1980s all over again. Cumulative trauma claims are back with a vengeance and spreading like a virus with a mouthpiece. Cumulative trauma claims had historically been a phenomenon of the Southern California market, but attorneys’ changing practice patterns have fueled an explosion of such claims across California. The California Workers’ … Read More »

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UR Reg Comments

The Division of Workers’ Compensation received numerous comments in response to its third 15-day public comment period regarding a proposal to update the regulations for California’s utilization review system. The agency was forced to circulate an updated proposal after the Office of Administrative Law rejected the regulations the Division filed earlier. OAL said DWC failed … Read More »

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Workers’ Comp Reform May Have To Wait For Next Governor

The 2026 race for California Governor could dramatically impact the future of California’s workers’ comp system. Observers say major reforms are unlikely this year as the legislature deals with the homeowner insurance crisis and its own looming fiscal issues, but interest groups are putting out markers for issues that will likely be part of the … Read More »

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Latest UR Reg Changes Create Problems

The Division of Workers’ Compensation proposed a set of updates to California’s utilization review regulations last year and, in response to public feedback at the time, made some tweaks to the package. But industry commentators say the changes went too far, put the onus on the innocent party, and are urging the Division to undo … Read More »

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California Supreme Court Hears Penalty Case

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 … Read More »

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Political Insights and Predictions From CWCI’s Annual Meeting

Capitol veterans say California’s escalating budget problems will likely limit opportunities for any significant legislation affecting workers’ comp this year. They note, however, that organized labor, applicant’s attorneys, and others whose interests are tied to the workers’ comp system are expected to use the year to lay the groundwork for potential reforms in the next … Read More »

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