October 2014 Case Law Update

Thursday, October 16, 2014 | 0

JURISDICTION AND SUBROGATION

In Royster v. NFL Europe, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 445, the WCAB held that it had jurisdiction over a professional football player's cumulative trauma injury when the contract of employment was made in California.

In LeFiell Manufacturing Co. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (Watrous) (2014) 79 CCC 1026, the 2nd District Court of Appeal held that an employee could not bring a claim under LC 4558 and that his injury was governed by the exclusivity of the workers' compensation laws.

In Gregory v. Cott (2014) 79 CCC 985, the California Supreme Court held that patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease are not liable in tort for injuries they inflict on health care workers hired to care for them at home.

INJURY

In Lim v. Twelve Signs, Inc., 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 409, the WCAB affirmed an arbitrator's decision that an employer or insurer may file a petition for contribution and join additional defendants after settlement of an applicant's workers' compensation claim.

In Aresco v. WCAB, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. LEXIS 119 (writ denied), the WCAB reversed a WCJ and concluded that an applicant's psychiatric claim was barred by the six-month rule under LC 3208.3(d).

MEDICAL TREATMENT

In Castro v. Carson Trailers, Inc., 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 402, the WCAB held that an employer could not terminate home health care services and transportation to and from medical visits after it stipulated to providing them pursuant to an AME's opinion, and the stipulation was encompassed in a minute order issued by a WCJ.

In White v. Department of Social Services, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 420, the WCAB held that a defendant had continuing liability for medical treatment in an assisted living facility when a UR determination authorized payment for the applicant's move-in costs and rent from Feb. 9, 2012, to Dec. 31, 2012, but added that payment would continue until he moved.

In Adams v. Little Co. of Mary Hospital, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 421, the WCAB rescinded a WCJ's decision disallowing a lien for home health care and remanded for further proceedings on the prescription requirement.

In Griffin v. County of Los Angeles, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 429, the WCAB agreed with a WCJ that the evidence supported that home health care services were reasonable and necessary, but remanded the case for further proceedings.

In Newton v. Jack-In-The-Box, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 413, the WCAB rescinded its earlier decision finding that a defendant's UR decision was materially defective when a UR delay notice was signed only by a utilization review nurse, even though the decision not to certify the requested treatment was made later by a physician.

DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT

In Robertson v. Bonnano, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 443, the WCAB held that a defendant was liable for right hip replacement surgery, even though the defendant deferred UR on the grounds that it was disputing compensability for the right hip, because the defendant did not timely object to the treating physician's request for surgery by requesting an AME or QME under LC 4062.

In Lorenz v. Encino Hospital Medical Center, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 410, the WCAB held that an AME's report obtained in two specific injuries against one employer was admitted properly to support an award for a subsequent cumulative trauma injury against the second employer, even though the second employer did not agree to use the AME.

In Robles v. State of California – Department of Motor Vehicles, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 415, the WCAB rescinded a WCJ's decision and held that an applicant was not entitled to a new panel QME even though the defendant violated LC 4062.3(e) by not serving a communication to a QME 20 days before a re-examination, and violated LC 4062.2(b) by not serving the applicant with documents 20 days before sending them to the QME.

LITIGATION

In Hernandez v. Nestle USA, Inc., 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 437, the WCAB determined that a WCJ may not order a defendant to explain the relevance of each exhibit listed on the pretrial conference statement.

In Martin v. Barrett Business Services, Inc., 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 436, the WCAB concluded that a WCJ did not violate Canon 3(B)(7) the California Code of Judicial Ethics, which precludes a judge from independently investigating facts in a proceeding.

Complete discussion of these topics can be found in Sullivan On Comp available to subscribers.

Michael Sullivan is the founder of Michael Sullivan & Associates LLP, a workers' compensation defense firm with six offices in California, and author of "Sullivan on Comp," a treatise on California workers' compensation law.