WCAB Imposes Max Penalty on Carrier for Delay in Medication

An insurance carrier that unreasonably delayed the provision of psychiatric medication to an applicant should be subjected to the maximum statutory penalty of 25% of the monetary value of the Cymbalta, Lexapro, Seroquel and Wellbutrin he was denied, a divided Workers' Compensation Appeals Board panel ruled last month.A majority of the panel concluded that the undisputed testimony of applicant Christian Ferro regarding his repeated inability to refill his prescriptions was enough to establish the existence of a delay by the Compwest Insurance Co. The dissenting commissioner, however, a...