NEW! Cornerstone Development Partners v. Superior Court of Riverside County, et al., E057726, (12/31/13): California's Privette Doctrine barred an injured subcontractor from suing a general contractor for his work-related injuries, the 4th District Court of Appeal concluded.

NEW! Lopez v. Stone Brewing Co., D062431, (12/24/2013): The California 4th District Court of Appeal is giving a worker who suffered from a rash, which may have been a reaction to chemicals in his workplace, a second chance to prove his disability discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination claims against his former employer.

NEW! City of Sacramento v. WCAB (Cannon), C072944, (12/26/13): The California 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that a worker's condition does not need to be "complex" or "extraordinary" for a medical evaluator to rate it by analogy to another impairment, if this will yield the most accurate rating.

NEW! Hedren v. Allen, D061186, (12/16/13): A California appellate court upheld a $1.4 million jury verdict against a veteran Santa Barbara attorney who mishandled a personal injury action based on a sound stage mishap in which famed Hollywood actress Tippi Hedren was soaked by water that had been accumulating in the ceiling of the building.

NEW! Fengier v. Fredericka Manor Care Center, D062723, (12/17/2013): A property owner had no legal duty to provide the employee of an independent contractor with a work area free from obstructions when the employee came to the property, the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled. 

NEW! South Coast Framing v. WCAB, D063945, (12/09/2013): A California appellate court annulled an award of workers' compensation benefits to the family of a carpenter who died from an accidental drug overdose. 

Coast Rehabilitation Services v. Gray Duffy, B245940, (12/04/2013): A California appellate court upheld an award of damages for breach of contract by an Encino-based law firm based on its refusal to pay for the cost of generating a life care plan for a client in a medical malpractice action.

Advanced Orthopedics v. WCAB (City of Los Angeles), B250663, (11/26/13): The California Supreme Court denied review of a Workers' Compensation Appeals Board panel decision reviving a Southern California medical provider's $96,519 lien claim for 12 years of treatment provided to a veteran police officer who was injured in the line of duty.

Federal Insurance Co. v. WCAB (Johnson), B249201, (12/03/2013): The California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board could not exercise jurisdiction over the cumulative trauma claims of a former professional basketball player based on the fact that she had practiced and played one game in Los Angeles during the final season of her career.

Sheffield v. Chevron, F066032, (11/26/2013): An oil rig worker who suffered injuries falling into the rig's well cellar could not sue the company that had hired his employer to perform the drilling work based on the Privette doctrine, a California appellate court ruled.