Young: Proving 100%

Is a vocational expert necessary to prove that a worker is 100% disabled, or can medical expert evidence establish a total permanent disability? This is an issue that arises in the most serious workers’ comp cases, usually in the context of an argument that under Labor Code 4662 (permanent total disability according to fact), or the LeBoeuf case, that a worker is permanent total. With various legislative reforms, the concept of inability to compete in the open labor market gave way to the concept of diminished earning capacity. Due to the reforms, the date of injury may di...