WCAB Grants Reconsideration of Dubon Decision on Defective UR

The California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board agreed Thursday to reconsider its decision in Dubon v. World Restoration, in which it decided that medical necessity is not subject to the independent medical review process when an employer's utilization review is defective. Employers fear the Feb. 27 ruling will eliminate much of the cost savings intended through passage of Senate Bill 863 in 2012. The measure took disputes over medical necessity away from the WCAB to IMR with hopes of reducing the amount of costly litigation in California's workers' comp system. The WCAB iss...