Richard Newman and Rupali Das Both Leaving DWC

Thursday, October 22, 2015 | 6

The California Workers' Compensation Division's chief judge and its top medical officer will both be leaving their posts in the next few months, the division announced Wednesday.

Chief Judge Richard Newman will leave the division at the end of November and assume the position of secretary and deputy commissioner for the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board on Dec. 2. Current WCAB Secretary Rick Dietrich plans to retire effective Dec. 30.

DWC Executive Medical Director Rupali Das will retire from state service in January and join Zenith Insurance Co. as senior vice president and California medical director.
 
Prior to his appointment as chief judge of the DWC in September 2011, Newman worked for the division as an attorney, judge and presiding judge. As chief judge, Newman had the responsibility of overseeing the division’s 24 district offices, including the hiring and supervision of judges and judicial staff and involvement in facility and personnel issues.
 
During his tenure, Newman re-instituted yearly statewide judge and information and assistance training and regular presiding judge training, the DWC said. He worked to promote uniform district office procedures and forms, participated in a major revision of the Policy and Procedure Manual and helped in the creation of the new online qualified medical evaluator panel process.

Newman also helped develop a lien fee payment process and revise the state's lien filing regulations after passage of Senate Bill 863 in 2012. He also helped bring in "Court Call," which allows telephonic conferencing by attorneys. He worked to equalize the workload among district offices through the use of video lien trials and conferences. Newman is now overseeing the creation of updated and simplified manuals for the Electronic Adjudication and Management System to be used by judges, secretaries and hearing officers, the DWC said.

Judge Thomas Clarke, now an associate chief judge at the Salinas district office, will assume the position of acting chief judge.
 
Das was appointed executive medical director in 2012. She played a key role in implementing SB 863, including independent medical review, independent bill review and adopting an updated physician fee schedule, the division said.
 
The division said Das helped strengthen the evidence-based framework of its Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule and introduced updated guidelines for the treatment of chronic pain in workers.

"She collaborated with other state agencies to address the nationwide epidemic of prescription drug overdose and death and proposed guidelines for prescribing opioids for injured workers," the DWC said. "She worked to educate medical audiences about workers’ compensation and enhance the quality of qualified medical evaluators."
 
Das joined state service in 1993. Prior to her appointment with the DWC, she served at the state Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Public Health.

The division said Associate Medical Director Dr. Raymond Meister will assume interim responsibilities while the DWC conducts an active search for an executive medical director.