Summaries and analyses of new case law dominated Bradford and Barthel’s list of top 10 blogs of the year, as practitioners saw more noteworthy decisions than usual in 2025.

John P. Kamin

We at the Law Offices of Bradford and Barthel write about many topics, ranging from “how to” and educational pieces to blogs about breaking news and developments. This past year, we saw more citable and noteworthy decisions from the powers that be than we have in prior years.

The other notable trend that was a common theme among our blogs was rising costs at the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund and in Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau studies.

Here is a look back at the firm’s top 10 posts from 2025 that are definitely worth revisiting.

Courts issued a number of new precedential decisions in 2025. Here are some of the top blogs about breaking case law.

1. Court strikes down Patterson doctrine in published decision: A defendant’s decision to authorize medical care should not prevent it from submitting future requests for authorization for the same treatment to utilization review, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in a new published decision that agreed with arguments made by the Law Offices of Bradford and Barthel.

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2. Sandhagen is dead! Is Dubon II on the way out? Founding partner Don Barthel explains why the 2nd DCA’s published decision in Rodriguez could mean the end of the line of case law from Dubon I and II.

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3. Accident claim barred by going-and-coming rule: A recent Court of Appeal decision involving the going-and-coming rule offers an opportunity to explore the often-misunderstood area involving injuries sustained during commutes to remote workplaces.

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4. Contract isn’t always enough for jurisdiction on sports claims: A single contract of hire made in the state of California is not sufficient to give the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board jurisdiction over all sports claims filed by an athlete against non-California teams, the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled in a published decision.

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5. WCAB retains jurisdiction over replacement panels: The WCAB clarified that parties in a represented case cannot automatically replace a QME who is not scheduling re-evaluations in a timely manner, according to an en banc decision.

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6. En banc clarifies policy reporting requirements: The WCAB issued an en banc decision clarifying what policy information defendants must produce amid a confusing array of case law and regulations.

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7. Are personal appearances at trial really necessary? In the case of Dominguez v. Shield Platinum Production LLC, the WCAB overturned a trial judge’s order directing a claims adjuster and the adjuster’s supervisor to appear at an in-person lien trial.

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8. Comp costs hit highest combined ratio since 2001: Workers’ compensation costs have hit their highest numbers in more than 20 years, according to a WCIRB report.

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9. Governor promises major SIBTF reforms in 2026: Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that he will push for changes to the SIBTF in 2026, according to the governor’s veto message of a bill that would have changed how the fund operates.

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10. QME template bill headlines legislative session: Newsom signed a number of smaller bills into law during the 2025 legislative session, but perhaps the one with the widest impact could be a bill requiring a template for all qualified medical evaluator reports.

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John P. Kamin is a workers’ compensation defense attorney and partner at Bradford & Barthel’s Woodland Hills location. He is WorkCompCentral's former legal editor. This entry from Bradford & Barthel's blog appears with permission.