No Injunction in QME Dispute; Judge Questions Jurisdiction to Hear Complaint

A Los Angeles judge on Thursday denied a request to block the California Division of Workers' Compensation interpretation of billing rules for qualified medical evaluators, ruling that the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board has exclusive jurisdiction over accusations that the division engaged in underground rule-making. “As a consequence of WCAB’s exclusive jurisdiction, petitioners cannot directly challenge the proper interpretation of DWC’s regulations — including that DWC’s interpretation of its own regulation constitutes an underground ...