Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
Chapter 2 JURISDICTION
Chapter 3 THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
Chapter 4 INJURY
Chapter 5 COURSE OF EMPLOYMENT (TIME AND PLACE)
Chapter 6 ARISING OUT OF EMPLOYMENT (CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP)
Chapter 7 TEMPORARY DISABILITY
Chapter 8 PERMANENT DISABILITY
Chapter 9 MEDICAL BENEFITS
Chapter 10 LIENS AND MEDICAL-LEGAL COST PETITIONS
Chapter 11 DEATH BENEFITS
Chapter 12 PENALTIES: INCREASED AND REDUCED COMPENSATION ON ACCOUNT OF FAULT
Chapter 13 INSURANCE: SECURING LIABILITY FOR COMPENSATION
Chapter 14 THE DELIVERY SYSTEM: ADMINISTRATIVE SUPERVISION; NOTICE REQUIREMENTS; AUDIT PROCEDURES; ANTI-FRAUD LEGISLATION; INJURY PREVENTION PROGRAMS; INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; NEW SB 863 ORGANIZATIONS
Chapter 15 SETTLEMENTS: COMPROMISE AND RELEASE, AND STIPULATED FINDINGS & AWARD
Chapter 16 CLAIM FILING PROCEDURE, PLEADINGS, VENUE AND DISMISSAL
Chapter 17 ATTORNEYS AND REPRESENTATIVES
Chapter 18 STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS: ORIGINAL FILINGS AND REOPENINGS
Chapter 19 PREPARATION FOR TRIAL AND OTHER PRE-TRIAL MATTERS
Chapter 20 PRE-TRIAL DISCOVERY: DEPOSITIONS AND OTHER TECHNIQUES
Chapter 21 TRIAL SETTING AND TRIAL
Chapter 22 JUDGMENTS: POST TRIAL DISPOSITIONS, DECISIONS AND OTHER MATTERS (INTEREST, COSTS, LIEN CLAIMS, CREDIT, CLERICAL ERROR, ENFORCEMENT, COMMUTATION AND RESTITUTION)
Chapter 23 RECONSIDERATION AND REVIEW
Chapter 24 THIRD-PARTY SUITS

This edition keeps you up-to-date with 2 revamped chapters, statutory and rule changes, and hundreds of new cases updating all 24 chapters.

Revamped chapters:

• Chapter 8 Permanent Disability: has been updated and reorganized to present the material in a more logical way. Much of the text has been completely re-written to enhance clarity.
• The discussion of liens and related topics previously covered in various chapters has been revised and consolidated in Chapter 10 Liens and Medical-Legal Cost Petitions.

Other new and updated material:

• Reforms Enacted in 2018 are summarized. §1:55
• Fair Labor Standards Act: Plaintiff had valid FLSA cause of action when the plaintiff sued his employer in state court and employer’s attorney planned for ICE to take him into custody at a deposition and deport him. §2:220
• Exclusion for National Guard Service: Applicant was ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits for psychiatric injury arising out of a sexual assault that occurred while training with the California Army National Guard. §2:59
• Aggravation or Exacerbation: A second injury that causes no additional temporary or permanent disability is likely an exacerbation. §4:41
• Peace Officer and Firefighter Cancer Presumption: Can defendant’s failure to produce HARP documents create an adverse inference? §4:61
• Anti-Attribution Clauses: Appeals Board barred defendant from rebutting industrial causation where applicant contracted a blood-borne pathogen from a prior surgical scar and diverticulitis. §4:62
• MTUS: Applicant’s right to challenge diagnosis or treatment with second and third opinions versus defendant’s right to control treatment through utilization review. §9:60
• Resubmission to UR and the 12-Month Rule: Are the worker and treating doctor bound by the 12-month rule where there has been a misunderstanding of the medical facts? §9:61.2
• No Medical/Legal or Judicial Review of UR Denial: Court of Appeal cases reject arguments that the UR / IMR process is unconstitutional. §9:63
• Failure to Pay TD: WCJ did not err in ordering defendant to pay 13 years of temporary disability plus penalties where defendant failed to petition for termination of temporary disability. §12:02
• Safety Order Violations: Employer guilty of serious and willful misconduct for failing to utilize a “tag line” on a steel beam. §12:11
• Supplemental Job Displacement Vouchers: Applicant was not entitled to a second LC §5814 penalty for delay in providing a supplemental job displacement voucher. §12:117
• Officers/Owners as Employees: LC §3352(a)(16)(A) provides an exception from the definition of an employee for certain officers and members of the board of directors of quasi-public or private corporations. §13:245
• Settlement of One Part of Body Does Not Preclude Claim to Another: Applicant’s claim for cumulative injury to his brain during his professional football career was not barred by a Compromise and Release Agreement settling an earlier claim of cumulative injury to other body parts. §15:50
• Withdrawal Requests before Reconsideration Deadline Has Passed: Board finds no mutual mistake when defendant listed the wrong date of death which affected the amount of the death benefit payable to applicant. §15:102
• Setting Aside Stipulated Awards: Board returns several cases to trial level for further hearings on whether mistake was mutual or unilateral. Board finds no good cause to set aside stipulations for unilateral mistake. §15:135
• Non-attorney Representatives: Lien for fees filed by a non-attorney representative lien claimant was precluded by LC §4903(a), which does not allow fees for non-attorney representatives. §17:04
• Attorney Sanctions: Sanctions for failure to appear (§17:22); inappropriate language and misrepresentations (§17:123), and failure to return the client’s file (§17:131)
• Petition to Reduce Disability: Failure to file a timely petition to reduce permanent disability did not preclude WCJ from re-rating applicant’s current level of disability with regard to petition to re-open for new and further disability. §18:116
• IMR: Timeframes set forth in LC §4610.6(d) and ADR §9792.10.5(a)(1) with respect to the 45 days required for IMR to issue its decision are directory and not mandatory. §19:13
• IMR: First District Court of Appeal affirms Board’s decision denying the applicant’s petition for the Board to order its IMR organization to disclose identities of first and second independent medical reviewers.
• Disqualification for Cause: Allegations of bias without sufficient detail will generally not support disqualification. §21:03
• Permanent and Stationary Reports: One panel concludes that a final permanent and stationary report by the primary treating physician is not required so long as there has been an evaluation by a qualified medical evaluator addressing permanent disability. §21:06
• Right to Testify: WCJ did not err in allowing applicant, who had been deported to Mexico, to testify at trial via a cell phone using the FaceTime application. §21:112
• Record of Proceedings: In several cases, the Board reiterates the importance of creating a record including the identification of issues for determination to afford the parties due process. §21:190
• Newly-Discovered Evidence: Board grants reconsideration based on newly discovered evidence finding that WCJ had determined the applicant’s credibility based on a misleading drug testing report and the mistaken belief that the applicant was not taking his prescribed pain medications. §23:23

And More!