Important Recent California Case Law

Tuesday, August 5, 2014 | 0

NEW! Benavides v. WCAB (Specialty Risk Services), B251487, (07/18/2014): California's 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that an injured worker could renege on his agreement to a stipulated award for his industrial injury and reopen his claim based on a new report from an agreed medical evaluator increasing his level of disability.

NEW! Rodriguez v. City of Santa Cruz, H038973, (07/17/2014): A California appellate court ruled that a former Santa Cruz police officer should get a second chance to prove his claim for an industrial disability retirement based on his post-traumatic stress disorder.

NEW! Roman Catholic Bishop of Monterey, California v. Mansfield, H038222, (07/11/2014): A California appellate court ruled that an injured worker who intervened in a third-party action that her employer had initiated and maintained for four years was required to pay the entire amount of her modest recovery to cover the cost of her employer's lien.

NEW! People v. Fuentes, A138058, (06/27/2014): The 1st District Court of Appeal rejected an injured worker's challenge to the probation conditions imposed on him for his attempt to fraudulently reopen his claim for workers' compensation benefits.

NEW! Old Republic Construction Program Group v. The Boccardo Law Firm, H037989, (6/27/14): An insurance company's lawsuit based on an applicant attorney's decision to disburse the settlement funds from a third-party lawsuit to his client without seeking the carrier's consent was not a strategic lawsuit against public participation, a California appellate court ruled. 

NEW! State of California ex. Rel Michael Wilson v. Los Angeles Superior Court (Bristol-Myers Squibb), B252073, (06/27/2014): California's 2nd District Court of Appeal bolstered the strength of a qui tam plaintiff's position in his quest for the imposition of civil penalties against the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for its alleged use of cappers to induce physicians to prescribe its drugs to their patients.

NEW! Lusk v. Baker, B241890, (06/24/2014): The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that an injured worker could not state a viable malpractice claim against her former attorney related to her untimely filing of her application for benefits since the time limit for her to make her filing had elapsed before she hired the attorney. 

Salas v. Sierra Chemical, No. S196568, (06/26/2014): A divided California Supreme Court revived a worker's lawsuit over his employer's refusal to rehire him after he had been hurt on the job, saying the employer's claim that the worker was not legally eligible to hold a job in the United States was not a complete defense to the worker's claims under the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Young v. WCAB (County of Butte), C075047, (06/25/14): California's 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that a corrections officer who injured himself while performing jumping jacks at home as part of his regular warm-up exercise regimen was within the course of his employment when he got hurt.

Expert Automotive Reconditioning v. Department of Industrial Relations, G048448, (06/24/2014): A California appellate court rejected a car-washing company's challenge to a $10,000 penalty levied against it based on its failure to register as a car-washing business with the labor commissioner.

Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corp., 12-56589, (06/16/2014): A federal appellate court ruled that an employer-employee relationship existed between a group of delivery drivers and a Georgia corporation that had purported to hire them on as independent contractors.

Stevens v. WCAB, A141435, (06/17/14): The 1st District Court of Appeal summarily denied review of a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the independent medical review process, but applicant attorneys say this doesn't mean the controversial system with limited judicial oversight for treatment decisions actually comports with principles of due process. 

ReadyLink Healthcare v. State Compensation Insurance Fund, 12-56248, (06/12/2014): The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a California employer's challenge to the State Compensation Insurance Fund's calculation of an additional premium owed by the employer. 

Garcia v. WCAB (Illinois Midwest Insurance Agency), B242245, (06/17/2014): The 2nd District Court of Appeal is sending a dispute over the admissibility of reports generated by doctors outside of an employer's medical provider network back to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to rule upon whether they should be allowed into evidence in light of the California Supreme Court's decision last year in Valdez v. WCAB (Warehouse Demo Services). 

Neri-Hernandez v. Geneva Staffing, ADJ7995806, (06/12/2014): The California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, in an en banc ruling, rescinded an award to a worker with a severe injury to his dominant hand for the home health care assistance he was receiving from his wife.

Salgado v. Modern Meat, E056030, (06/04/2014): A factory worker who suffered the partial amputation of four fingers from the cutting blades of a meat-labeling machine could not avail herself of the "power press" exception to workers' compensation exclusivity, a California appellate court ruled.