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Friday, February 20, 2015

Supreme Court Asked to Review Dubon II as UR/IMR Disputes Pile Up

State: California
Topic: Top
- Popular with: Legal
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The California Supreme Court is being asked to weigh in on whether the Workers' Compensation App…

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3 Comments (2 Replies)

Close Do not post libelous remarks. You are solely responsible for the postings you input. By posting here you agree to hold harmless and indemnify WorkCompCentral for any damages and actions your post may cause.

Jacqueline Hilton Nov 3, 2016 a 2:58 pm PDT

Statute and caselaw have made it clear that CIGA is not a carrier. CIGA should not be referred to as a carrier--it is incorrect and misleading.

Anonymous Nov 3, 2016 a 2:58 pm PDT

The biggest issue I have with Dubon II is that after DUbon I came down, Katherine Zalewski who was lead council for the DWC and assisted if not authored SB863 and all of the regs, was then appointed to the WCAB as a commissioner. Then all of a sudden the WCAB steps back from its original decision. To me that is a major conflict. Because they did not write the regs correctly to begin with. They then appoint an author to further their position. The DIR and the DWC have now infected the WCAB. We should throw them all out. SB863 is a one way street written by cronies and political hacks and now they have one of their own at the WCAB. Not right!!!

Barbara Ramiller Nov 3, 2016 a 2:58 pm PDT

You are welcome to your opinion but there were multiple stakeholders from all sides of the issue involved with the drafting of the reform. While CAAA wasn't invited to the table, LABOR was included and represented. Their voice was heard and they signed off on the reform. Remember there were trade offs of higher benefits and increased compensation for reduced litigation. I agree that having Zalewski involved in making decisions on SB863 seems like a conflict to me, but I disagree with your comment that the reform was a one way street.

WCAB Judges SOC ICON Nov 3, 2016 a 2:58 pm PDT

Unfortunatly Labor was not really included at the bargaining table as the only labor representatives were for Unions that represent a minescule portion of the labor market. By not including CAAA

Anonymous Nov 21, 2016 a 6:49 pm PST

I have been reading comments stating that it is not important that the IMR reviewers are anonymous, and why does that matter?

I can tell you that many reviewers have other jobs and some of those may be a conflict of interest. I have seen two instances where UR reviewers ALSO worked for large spinal manufacturers.

Why is this a conflict and why is this relevant? Every time there is a problem with a implant, the FDA is supposed to be informed. This results in a notice on the FDA website. Too many complaints of a product may result in a recall. This is a big conflict and incentive not to have the hardware removed in patients who have requested hardware removal.

On the other hand if you have UR review doctors who ALSO have financial ties and work for spine manufacturers, they may know what ortho surgeons in Southern CA use certain implants. This may lead to another type of conflict of interest situation.

UR companies, I hope you will do a better job with background checks on your UR doctors. They should not also work for spinal hardware manufacturers and/or have a financial interest and be able to make decisions relative to removing faulty spinal hardware or implanting spinal hardware.

With IMR being anonymous, this would be a dream come true for criminals. I wish others could see this.

Injured workers should have more protection than this, and have the right to know who wrote their IMR and also have the ability to check for conflict of interest.

I have seen conflict of interest situations with UR doctors and objected to the UR review. Patients should have the same rights with IMR.

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