Tagged in: workers’ comp

New DIR, DWC Leaders Speak to SIBTF & Other Issues

The Division of Workers’ Compensation’s annual educational forum opened last week under the direction of a new leadership team at the Division and the Department of Industrial Relations. DIR Director Jennifer Osborn noted that she is still months away from her first anniversary in the position, and acting DWC Administrative Director Nicole Richardson has been … Read More »

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Prepaid Debit Card Authorization Bill

The Assembly Insurance Committee is carrying AB 1683 to end the sunset date on a program that allows workers’ comp carriers, third-party administrators, and self-insured employers to distribute workers’ comp indemnity benefits via prepaid debit cards. The prepaid cards have been authorized under a pilot program since 2018. A report released last fall showed that … Read More »

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Uninsured Company Avoids Negligence

The owners of a company that operated without workers’ comp coverage have been found not liable by a court. An employee who was severely burned on the job filed a lawsuit. The employee won a $1.1 million default judgment, but the trial court overturned the award due to attorney error. Hector Pena worked for Inter … Read More »

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Physician Cleared On Conspiracy, Kickback Charges

A San Diego neurosurgeon who was facing two felony counts for conspiracy and accepting kickbacks is a free man. First, an Orange County jury found him not guilty of the conspiracy charge, and now the remaining kickback allegation, which the jury had been unable to reach a verdict on, has been dismissed. Orange County DA … Read More »

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California Single Payer Bill and Workers’ Comp

Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) is bringing back – for a third time – a bill to create a single-payer health care system in California. Past attempts failed to clear their house of origin. The latest version of the bill to create the CalCare program includes a provision for an advisory board to develop a … Read More »

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Workers’ Comp Exclusivity Bars Negligence Lawsuit

The Fourth District Court of Appeal says a county employee’s negligence claim against his employer for requiring him to use a modified work tool that caused a serious injury is covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act’s exclusivity provision. The court notes that there are exceptions that allow claims to fall outside the workers’ compensation bargain, … Read More »

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Court Reduces Solakyan’s Restitution Order

A federal court in Southern California says there was no vindictive prosecution in the government’s attempt to recoup restitution from Sam Solakyan for running a workers’ comp kickback scheme, but it reduced the amount the government can recover to just over $4.4 million. Previously, the court awarded nearly $28 million in restitution. Solakyan ran Vital … Read More »

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