A bill that would give a presumption of compensability to farmworker heat-related injury claims if an employer is found to be out of compliance with Cal/OSHA’s outdoor heat illness prevention standard would likely create more challenges than it would solve, …
A California Workers’ Compensation Institute study shows nearly half of all litigated claims in the Los Angeles Basin are cumulative trauma claims that involve physical or mental injuries from repetitive stress, motion, or exposures, rather than from a specific event …
The number of inpatient hospitalizations in the California workers’ compensation system declined 51.1% between 2012 and 2022, a new report shows. The trend was driven by declining claim volume, technological advances and changes in Medicare rules that allow more outpatient …
Initial data on fiscal year 2022/23 public self-insured claims experience in the California workers’ compensation system show that public self-insured’s total claim volume, spurred by a sharp drop in indemnity claims, fell 16.8% in the 12 months ending June 30 …
Average paid losses on California workers’ compensation lost-time claims fell immediately after legislative reforms of SB 863 took effect a decade ago, but then gradually increased up until the pandemic hit, according to a new study. The California Workers’ Compensation …
A review of the Independent Medical Review process used to resolve California workers’ compensation medical disputes shows the number of IMR decision letters rose 4.1% in the first six months of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022 after …
California workers’ compensation private self-insured claim frequency rose 6% last year as both medical-only and indemnity claim volume increased, but a new report suggests that many of the claims may have been low-cost COVID-19 cases. A California Workers’ Compensation Institute …
A new report shows the number of independent medical reviews in California used to resolve medical disputes hit a record low in 2022 as prescription drug disputes continued to decline. The report from the California Workers’ Compensation Institute also shows …
New research on low-volume/high-cost drugs used to treat injured workers in California spotlights a handful of anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant medications that have become significant cost drivers despite accounting for a relatively small share of the prescriptions within their therapeutic drug …
A new study shows that after across-the-board declines in California inpatient hospitalizations during the COVID-19 crisis of 2020, the number of inpatient stays paid under Medicare, Medi-Cal, and private coverage began to rebound in 2021. However, the number of workers’ …
