Lawmakers, attorneys battle for fairness in workers’ compensation cases

Several recent news stories in Kern County and California have raised debate about workers’ compensation* issues and how workers can be more fairly compensated for job-related injuries and illnesses.

Workers’ compensation and women

California lawmakers approved a bill recently that would update state’s workers’ compensation law so that medical problems affecting mostly women will no longer be considered pre-existing conditions in calculating the compensation for job-related injuries and illnesses, the Associated Press reported.

Women often receive less pay than men for suffering the same injury because the law allows discounted rates for pregnancy, breast cancer, menopause, osteoporosis or a psychiatric disability related to those diagnoses.

Bakersfield workers’ compensation attorney James Yoro says that the out-of-date state law discriminates against women in the workplace. Yoro is a Certified Workers’ Compensation Professional in California, and is one of the most veteran and most respected workers’ compensation lawyers in the San Joaquin Valley.

“We should reduce the effects of the recent legislation that has caused hardships for injured workers by proposing additional regulations that would prevent this type of thing happening,” said Yoro, with the law firm Chain | Cohn | Clark.

Yoro sits on the Board of Governors for the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association, which is working to minimize the harsh effects of the law.

Insurance fight

BakersfieldNow.com recently highlighted the story of a man who was injured badly in a big rig explosion and fighting with an insurance company over workers’ compensation.

Donovan Dixon, of Bakersfield, was left in critical condition after a crash on Highway 710 in which a vehicle in front of him lost its rear axle and got stuck underneath Dixon’s tanker, carrying crude oil. He suffered major injuries, including burns and a broken pelvis, and spent two and a half months in a coma.

The insurance company denied to authorize physical therapy, Dixon said, and also a bed that doctors said he needed to sleep comfortably. The insurance company could not comment to BakersfieldNow.com on the specific case. Dixon said he was sick of big companies gaming the system to deny people like himself.

“It’s unfortunate what happened to this individual,” Yoro said.

Additionally, Yoro said, Dixon hired an attorney outside of Bakersfield, which could cause some hardships. The law allows victims to file lawsuits in their hometowns, and not where accidents have taken place.

“Accident victims don’t have to go outside of this area to get representation. We have specialists here,” Yoro said.

New workers’ compensation battle

Lastly, a new workers’ compensation bill has sparked a new battle in California, according to The Sacramento Bee.

Senate Bill 563, by Sen. Richard Pan, would partially undo the 2012 legislation by softening “utilization review” of medical treatments, aimed at approving only those deemed to be medically necessary. Sponsors contend that without changes, the current system denies injured workers badly needed treatment.

To read more on this, click here.

———-

If you are ever involved in an accident due to the fault of another, or are injured at work, contact the personal injury and workers’ compensation lawyers at Chain | Cohn | Clark at 661-323-4000 or visit the website chainlaw.com. Or visit the law firm’s specialized workers’ compensation website by clicking here.

———-

*NOTICE: Making a false or fraudulent Workers’ Compensation claim is a felony subject to up to 5 years in a prison or a fine of up to $150,000 or double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater, or by both imprisonment and fine.