Improving Dispute Resolution For Californias Injured Workers Executive Summary

Download or read book Improving Dispute Resolution for California's Injured Workers. Executive Summary written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: California's 90-year-old workers' compensation system is designed to provide injured workers immediate and speedy relief without re- sorting to a formal trial. Instead of involving judges and the civil courts, injured workers may simply file a claim through a no-fault, administrative process. In theory, the process for delivering workers' compensation benefits, such as medical care, replacement of lost wages, and vocational, rehabilitation services, is precisely defined in the California Labor Code and other regulations and is mostly automatic. In reality, how- ever, disputes often arise over issues such as whether an injury in fact occurred at work, whether medical treatment is necessary, and the extent to which an injury poses long-term consequences for the worker. All such disputes are resolved in a single forum: the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). Of the one million workers' compensation claims filed in California every year, about 200,000 end up at the WCAB.