Lien Claimants Concerned New Regs Will Swamp Appeals Boards

By Greg Jones, Western Bureau ChiefAdditional guidance is needed on new regulations that allow dismissal of old liens for lack of prosecution to avoid overloading district offices -- particularly those in Southern California -- with new filings, lien claimants say.The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board adopted new regulations last month that require a party to a lien to request a lien conference when filing a declaration of readiness to proceed, allow only one continuance of a conference or lien trial and allow a judge to dismiss a lien when a claimant fails to appear at a conference.Th...