Working into the evening, the California Senate approved by 23 to 14 SB 815, a bill doubling permanent disability benefits to injured workers by 2009. Little or no thought is given to the costs imposed on the system by this huge benefits increase. And successful litigation by the applicants’ attorneys will increase the costs even …
Gov Agrees to Raise Minimum Wage, Support Injured Worker Doctor Choice Bill Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reaches an agreement with state Democrats to raise California’s minimum wage by $1.25—25 cents more …
Injured Workers Claim Harassment from Fraud Investigators In recent years, workers’ compensation insurance administrators have mounted aggressive campaigns to cut costs by uncovering fraudulent claims. The downside to this action …
Judge Denies Comp to Deputy Injured by Meth Abuser A Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy and member of the sheriff’s mounted posse, whose feet were crushed when a methamphetamine-impaired driver crashed …
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, along with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office, has helped break up an allegedly fraudulent billing scheme where phony workers’ comp claims were filed with insurance companies, using the stolen identities of as many as 200 injured workers. The DA estimates that payers were probably billed more than $1.4 …
At a meeting punctuated by comments from outspoken injured workers, the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Assessment Commission is giving out a total of $22.6 million in funding to 36 district attorneys to fight California workers’ comp fraud in fiscal year 2006-07. In addition, Commission chair Bill Zachry highlighted the fact that over 70 percent of the …
Reforms Focus on Quick Return-to-Work, Not Retraining California’s workers’ compensation reforms wiped out vocational rehabilitation, replacing it with a voucher that can be used for training that is issued only …