October 31, 2024 | Sacramento, CA — MedLegalNews.com —To improve worker safety and bridge communication barriers, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has introduced an advanced translation app in a pilot program. Developed by TranslateLive, this tool enables Cal/OSHA personnel to communicate in over 200 languages and dialects, creating a safer and […]
October 28, 2024 | Sacramento, CA — MedLegalNews.com — SIBTF liabilities are mounting as California’s Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund, a state-run program offering supplemental benefits to injured workers with preexisting conditions, faces increasing financial strain from surging claims. The SIBTF’s 2024 report shows annual payouts surged from $13.6 million in 2010 to $232 million
Rising Liabilities in California’s SIBTF Read Post »
October 25, 2024 | Sacramento, CA — MedLegalNews.com — Med-legal costs for evaluations and reports used to resolve medical disputes in California work injury claims have increased more than expected since a new Med-Legal Fee Schedule (MLFS) took effect in April 2021, according to a new CWCI study. The average payment for a comprehensive exam
California Workers’ Comp Med-Legal Costs Rise Read Post »
October 25, 2024 | Oakland, CA — MedLegalNews.com — Self-insured workers in California saw claim volume in the state’s workers’ compensation system fall 9.5% in 2023, producing the biggest year-to-year decline in private self-insured claim frequency in more than 15 years. But double-digit increases in the average amounts paid and incurred on these claims drove
Fewer Claims, Higher Losses for CA Workers’ Comp Self-Insureds Read Post »
October 25, 2024 | Oakland, CA — MedLegalNews.com — Migraine Drugs represented less than 1% of all prescriptions dispensed to California injured workers in 2023 but they consumed 4.7% of workers’ compensation drug payments, a nearly 8-fold increase since 2018, which a California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) study links to the emergence of several high-cost
Are Migraine Drugs Becoming a New WC Cost Driver? Read Post »
October 24, 2024 | Oakland, CA — MedLegalNews.com – California’s State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) rose nearly 3.8 percent in the year ending March 31, 2024, which will increase California workers’ compensation temporary total disability (TTD) and permanent total disability (PTD) rates for 2025 work injury claims and other workers’ compensation benefits that are tied
SAWW Increase Bumps California WC Benefits for 2025 Read Post »
October 23, 2024 | Oakland, CA — MedLegalNews.com – Opioid prescribing in California workers’ compensation has declined more sharply than in the state’s overall population, according to a new California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) analysis of 2017-2023 opioid prescription data from the California Department of Justice’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) database.
Opioid Prescribing for Injured Workers in California: 2017-2023 Read Post »
October 23, 2024 | Folsom, CA — MedLegalNews.com – A former California Highway Patrol (CHP) captain, Matthew Stover, has been arrested on charges of workers’ compensation fraud and perjury, authorities reported. This case is a notable example of comp fraud within public safety agencies. Stover, 51, a 22-year veteran of the CHP, was detained in
Former CHP Captain Arrested for Workers’ Comp Fraud & Perjury Read Post »
October 23, 2024 | Dixon, CA — MedLegalNews.com — Cal/OSHA has cited Ruiz Farm Labor in Dixon for failing to protect its employees from heat illness, imposing a penalty of $17,550 for three serious heat illness violations of California’s heat illness prevention standard. The investigation began in June after reports surfaced that the farm labor
Cal/OSHA Fines Ruiz Farm Labor for Heat Illness Violations Read Post »
October 23, 2024 | San Francisco, CA — MedLegalNews.com — The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) has announced a significant WCIRB eSCAD update, improving its online tool for insurers to submit California aggregate financial data. The updated version introduces a streamlined interface and new features designed to enhance usability, simplify reporting, and
WCIRB Announces Update to eSCAD Read Post »
