Practice Pointer: Combating Fraudulent Liens

On September 30, 2016, Governor Brown approved two bills designed to combat fraudulent lien filings by physicians and medical services providers, Assembly Bill 1244 and Senate Bill 1160. As it relates to California Workers’ Compensation, AB 1244 concerns the situation in which a physician or medical services provider is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony […]

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What Are Lawful Nondiscriminatory Good Faith Personnel Actions?

Labor Code Section 3208.2(h) states: “No compensation under this division shall be paid by an employer for a psychiatric injury if the injury was substantially caused by a lawful, nondiscriminatory, good faith personnel action. The burden of proof shall rest with the party asserting the issue.” Just what is a “lawful, nondiscriminatory, good faith personnel […]

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Post-Termination Defense and Its Exceptions

Post-termination provisions are found in Section 3600(a)(10) of the Labor Code. This section sets forth certain requirements for compensability of a claimed industrial injury, where the injury is alleged to have occurred before termination or layoff from employment, and the claim is made after termination or layoff. The affirmative defense of post-termination is intended to […]

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TID Firm News

Trovillion, Inveiss & Demakis is honored to announce Astrid Sadler, Senior Paralegal and legal assistant to partner Nicki Demakis, was recently granted her United States Citizenship. A native of South Africa, Astrid was sworn in on June 22, 2016 at a naturalization ceremony. Astrid has worked for TID since 2012 in our San Diego office […]

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Psychiatric Injuries – Sudden & Extraordinary Exception

Labor Code Section 3208.3(d) states that no compensation shall be paid for a psychiatric injury unless the employee has been employed by that employer for at least 6 months. An exception to the 6-month rule is if the psychiatric injury is caused by a “sudden and extraordinary employment condition.” But what is considered “sudden and […]

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Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit Voucher Obligation and Dispute Resolution Process

Since its implementation on January 1, 2013, Senate Bill 863 reforms brought many changes to Workers Compensation. One of the areas affected was the issuance of job displacement benefit vouchers. For dates of injury occurring between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2012, if the injury caused permanent partial disability and the injured employee did […]

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Claims Made Under the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund

The Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF) is a source of additional compensation available to injured workers who already had a disability or impairment at the time of the injury. The fund is intended to encourage employers to hire disabled workers without the fear of being held liable for the effects of previous disabilities or […]

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Practice Pointer: Utilizing EAMS Lien Search Features Post December 31, 2015

The DWC ceased collecting lien activation fees at midnight on December 31, 2015. If a lien activation fee was not paid on or before midnight on December 31, 2015, and lien claimant was not exempt from paying a lien activation fee, the lien was automatically dismissed by operation of law. Since January 1, 2016, use […]

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Practice Pointer: Limiting Ogilvie Rating Rebuttals

A recent Court of Appeal decision, Contra Costa County v. WCAB (Dahl), issued on September 24, 2015, has provided limits on applicant attempts to utilize Ogilvie to increase permanent disability ratings. Ogilvie v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (2011) 197 Cal.App.4th 1262 held that there are only three ways in which a scheduled rating for an […]

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Practice Pointers: Tips on Identifying Fraudulent Claims

Workers’ compensation fraud is a topic of considerable discussion. The workers’ compensation system in California is a no-fault system. This means that an employee is not required to prove fault or negligence to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Unfortunately, some employees take advantage of this system by filing fraudulent claims that involve fabricated or exaggerated injuries. […]

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