Beverly Hills Doctor Sentenced to 10 Years in Workers’ Comp Scam

A Beverly Hills, Calif. doctor has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a massive fraud scheme.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Dr. Ronald Grusd was convicted in December of 39 charges, including conspiracy, honest services wire and mail fraud and health care fraud.

WCRIB: California Workers’ Comp Written Premium to be Down Again This Year

Lower workers’ compensation rates in California will bring down written premium once again this year, according to a forecast from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.

That revelation is expected in a full report on the state of California’s workers’ comp system is due out in about a week, but David Bellusci, WCIRB executive vice president and chief actuary, gave a rundown of what to expect during the group’s annual conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

California Worker’s Comp Directors and Officers Cleanup Law Takes Effect July 1

A new law that enables corporate directors and officers owning at least 10 percent of a business to opt out of workers’ compensation coverage goes into effect on July 1.

The law is intended to reduce the threshold of ownership, and is part of an effort to help eliminate workers’ comp fraud. Under the new law, directors and officers who want to opt out of worker’s comp must sign a waiver stating that they are covered by a health insurance plan.

California Man Nabbed for Collecting Workers’ Comp from Multiple Insurers While Working

Michael Williams, 34, of Daly City, Calif., has been arrested on 21 felony counts of insurance fraud and grand theft after allegedly working for multiple employers while collecting over $85,000 in workers’ compensation benefits from two different insurers.

In November 2014, Williams was reportedly working as an electrician when he sustained a work-related injury. He filed a workers’ comp claim with the State Compensation Insurance Fund and began collecting temporary workers’ comp benefits.

Study: Drop in California Workers’ Comp Hospital Stays and Spinal Surgeries

The number of California workers’ compensation inpatient hospital stays fell 31.2 percent between 2008 and 2016 compared with a 19.6 percent drop in hospital stays paid under private plans, a new California Workers’ Compensation Institute study shows.

The study also shows a 2.4 percent increase in Medicare inpatient stays, and a 19.6 percent increase in inpatient stays paid by Medi-Cal, which saw a huge jump in enrollment with the rollout of Affordable Care Act plans.

Southern California Police Officer Arrested in Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

The Los Angeles Police Department says one of its officers has been arrested on suspicion of workers’ compensation fraud.

Officials say Officer John Bailey was taken into custody this week after a felony warrant was issued for his arrest.

Report on California Workers’ Comp Shows 227 Medical Providers Suspended

The California Department of Industrial Relations on Monday issued a progress report on its anti-fraud efforts, including updates on the suspension of 227 medical providers from treating California’s injured workers and the dismissal of 292,000 illegitimate liens with claims valued at more than $2.5 billion.

Good News on Opioid Usage for a Change – it’s Down in California Workers’ Comp

Efforts to curb the use of opioids in California’s workers’ compensation system appear to be paying off.

New research from the California Workers’ Compensation Institute on prescription drugs used to treat injured workers shows that opioids now account for less than a quarter of all workers’ comp prescriptions in the state, down from nearly a third a decade ago.

Report: Number of Qualified Medical Evaluators in California Workers’ Comp Fell

The number of qualified medical evaluators resolve disputes over California workers’ compensation claim issues fell 20 percent between January 2012 and September 2017, according to a new California Workers’ Compensation Institute study.

However, the CWCI study shows that the impact on QME accessibility was partially offset by an increase in the median number of office locations per QME, which doubled over the same period.

Does workers’ comp cover on-the-job injury caused by spider nightmare?

Injuries to workers can occur in many ways, but few employers expect such injuries to come out of an employee's nightmare. When that happens, is the injury covered by workers' compensation? According to the Court of Appeals of Arkansas, the answer is no. But why?

In November 2015, Shawn Hansen was employed by the City of Siloam Springs, Ark., as a firefighter and an EMT. Hansen worked 24-hour shifts. During his shifts, he was required to stay on premises unless he was performing a work-related errand or activity. Because of the 24-hour scheduling scheme, the city provided sleeping arrangements and encouraged the employees to sleep during nighttime hours.

PARMA

Workers’ Comp