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      • THE ESCAMILLA DECISION
        09/30/11
        Among the en banc rulings of the WCAB this week was "In Re: Daniel Escamilla".

        Escamilla, appearing as a lien rep in various WCAB proceedings in Southern California, is noted to have engaged in a pattern of misleading statements and frivolous tactics. Despite having been sanctio

      • EN BANCS
        09/28/11
        I've been on the road the last couple of days, speaking as a guest lecturer at the California Workers' Compensation & Risk Conference, held in Monarch Beach in Orange County.

        The conference is primarily attended by insurer claims representatives, self insured administrators,

      • DAVE JONES AND COMP
        09/26/11
        Some injured workers may assume that California's Insurance Commissioner has a lot to do with workers' comp benefits.

        That's actually not the case, as the Insurance Commissioner is not involved in administering the system, setting policy and procedures, or legislative matte

      • WORKERS' COMP RATE HEARINGS
        09/25/11
        Interested in following the upcoming Tuesday morning hearings on workers' comp rates by the California Department of Insurance, but unable to get to San Francisco to attend in person?

        The hearing may be very interesting as the WCIRB and the CDI shift from a former measure of workers

      • IT'S BASED ON WALL STREET, STUPID!
        09/21/11
        Thought that California workers' comp rates were largely determined by claims costs?

        If so, you are like most people. Year after year reports by the WCIRB (California Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau) precede California Department of Insurance rate hearings on insu

      • PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE
        09/20/11
        A récent Los Angeles Times article on prescription drug abuse is worth noting.

        The article, "Drug Deaths Now Outnumber Traffic Fatalities in the U.S.", by Lisa Giron, Scott Glover and Doug Smith, is likely to add further weight to concerns about the expanded use of opioids in th

      • PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
        09/18/11
        America seems to be in the midst of a sea change about the concept of personal responsibility.

        The latest reminder was the audience response to questions posed to Presidential candidate Ron Paul by moderator Wolf Blitzer at a recent GOP Presidential debate.

        Should an uninsure

      • VETO BLUES
        09/15/11
        Governor Jerry Brown was quoted this week as saying "I'm going to veto a lot of bills over the next 30 days,"

        "So I have to say to some, fasten your seat belt cause this is going to be a rough ride. They've given me 600 bills and there's not 600 problems that

      • WHAT WAR?
        09/14/11
        Most folks are holding on to their wallet, hoping that the housing market does not crater further, taking more homes underwater.

        And it's not comforting to see the bond market start to take down the Spanish and Italian economy along with French banks.

        It's the world

      • FLASH: OGILVIE APPEAL FILED WITH CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT
        09/10/11
        Confounding the expectations of many workers' comp pundits, the City and County of San Francisco has filed a Petition for Review with the California Supreme Court in the Ogilvie case.

        The Petition for review was filed on September 7,2011.

        The argument used by Danny Chou, C

      • THE SPRINT
        09/09/11
        The California legislature sprints to the end of its session tonight.

        In the next few days we'll see what emerged after various floor votes.

        Here are some updates (as of this afternoon) on some bills that were under consideration:

        AB 378 (Solorio) (compound

      • MORE ON THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
        09/08/11
        Everything posted here may be moot or changed by the time you read this, but here are some updates based on currently available info:

        Still up for consideration are:
        AB 947 (Solorio) (expands eligibility for TD from 104 weeks up to 240 weeks where TD would otherwise run out after

      • IN THE FOG
        09/07/11
        Each year as the legislature winds down, we get to a point where the picture gets foggy.

        Bills that seemed to have lots of support and traction start to stall. Bills that seemed dead can spring to life as deals are struck, amendments made, and rules suspended.

        Getting informat

      • NASRI
        09/06/11
        Why not settle into your easy chair tonight and put yourself to sleep reading a wonkish report?

        Tonight we offer the report just released by the National Academy of Social Insurance, titled "Workers Compensation: Benefits, Coverage and Costs, 2009":
        http://www.nasi.org/s

      • RADIO TONIGHT
        09/05/11
        If you're in Northern California this Labor Day (or anywhere in Califoniai, for that matter) tune in tonight to San Francisco AM radio station KGO (KGO Newstalk 810) from 10 to 11.

        I'll be appearing on the John Rothmann talk show along with injured worker activist Sam Gold. Gold

      • THIS LABOR DAY
        09/04/11
        This year's Labor Day feels different.

        Oh, yes, there will be Labor Day breakfasts and Labor Day picnics, attended by officeholders and some activists. And lots of speechifying.

        But in the heartland, there's fear and lack of confidence.

        In workers' com

      • A FARMWORKER DEAL
        09/02/11
        Workerscompzone is back after a few day hiatus tromping around Nevada's Black Rock Desert.

        Yes, believe it or not, the California workers' comp community is fairly well represented at Burning Man. The bacchanalian festival is much more profound than you may have imagined from me

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