California Court of Appeals, First Appellate District
California Court of Appeals, First Appellate District

The First Appellate District of the Court of Appeal of the State of California has affirmed the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board in Benson v. WCAB and the Permanente Medical Group, affirmed (2/10/2009).  The Court of Appeals held, in relevant part, that “[t]he Wilkinson doctrine is inconsistent with the apportionment reforms enacted by Senate Bill No. 899.”

The basic upshot is that barring “limited circumstances” each distinct industrial injury will require its own Award.

First Ogilvie and Almaraz/Guzman, now Benson?  Its been an exciting two weeks to be a Workers’ Compensation attorney.

Office of the Clerk
Office of the Clerk

I am constantly trying to think of ways in which to improve this website and to make it a better resource for California Workers’ Compensation professionals.  If you’ve got an idea as to how I can improve this site, drop me a line and let me know.

  1. Links to online Medical Provider Network lists of physicians for a lot of different carriers
    • Click on “Medical Provider Network Links”
  2. The ability to search for occupational codes by the occupational title or to search for an occupational title by occupational code
    • Click on “Rating Calculator” and then “Occupation”
  3. Links to free searchable versions of the California Labor Code and California Code of Regulations
    • Click on “Workers’ Compensation Resource Links”
  4. Links to the State of California search pages for medical doctors, chiropractors, osteopaths, podiatrists, accupuncturists, optomotrists, psychologists, and dentists
    • Click on “Physician Search Links”
  5. Downloads for numerous Permanent Disability Rating Schedules1988, 1997, 2005, and the draft for 2009
  6. Combined Values Chart / Multiple Disabilities Table calculators
    • Click on “Rating Calculator” and then “CVC” or “MDT”
  7. A list of Commonly Used Terms in California Workers’ Compensation law

What’s that?  I only promised the top five PDRater.com features?  Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of the first rule of business:  Under promise and over deliver.

Happy Friday!