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May 3, 2024
To Clarify What “File” Means With Workers’ Compensation Claims. The Connecticut Supreme Court Does It.

April 25, 2024
California Department of Industrial Relations and Cal/OSHA Will Honor Workers’ Memorial Day at Four Events in California on April 28th-29th 2024. Cal/OSHA Joining Partners in Arcadia, Richmond, San Diego and San Francisco.

April 23, 2024
California Division of Workers' Compensation Launches Online Portal for Submission of QME Medical-Legal Reports

April 22, 2024
California Division of Workers’ Compensation Posts Updated Time of Hire Notice

Judge Ito in the Spotlight Again

Once again, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lance Ito, best known for presiding over the O.J. Simpson trial, is cracking the whip in a three-ring court circus. Ito’s latest show highlights criminal allegations, workers’ compensation claims, perjury and welfare misrepresentation.

Under Ito’s watchful eye, Pasadena pediatric dentist Drueciel Ford is being tried for allegedly allowing her assistant to administer a sedative overdose causing a patient to suffer brain damage. Prosecutors allege that Melissa “Missy” McGrath, 18, was clinically dead for 28 minutes after being given a dosage of chloral hydrate. McGrath now walks with a walker and is relearning every day tasks such as writing.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed that Ford oversedated kids on a regular basis. Ford’s dental assistant, Dana Harmon, admitted at the trial that she lied to prosecutors during previous questioning about the amount of sedative she gave McGrath. She originally said it was a few teaspoons but later admitted it was actually a cup.

Harmon is seeking her own compensation from Ford through a workers’ compensation claim she filed citing job stress.

McGrath’s mother, Jan McGrath, was scheduled to testify at the trial Jan. 28, but Judge Ito decided against it because he wants her to have her own attorney present. In a separate case, McGrath allegedly perjured herself about welfare benefits she received.

A Confession of Convenience?

Kentucky Gov. Paul E. Patton wants to correct a wrong he made six years ago and today he is one step closer to absolution. The state House of Representatives unanimously approved a proposal by the governor to ease up on rules governing black-lung benefits for coal miners. Mr. Patton cracked down on the compensation for pneumoconiosis during an overhaul of the state’s workers’ compensation system in 1996. Since the changes, the program has only accepted 16 new cases of miners with the black lung illness. Some politicians are saying Gov. Patton made the move because he is eyeing a U.S. Senate seat in the future. The proposal will now be considered by the state Senate.

Bringing Your Personal Problems to Work

The latest on 24-year-old Michael Garza, the Coachella man charged with workers’ compensation fraud and insurance fraud, is his guilty plea to one felony count of knowingly making false statements on an insurance claim. Garza was arrested Jan. 9 by investigators of the Department of Insurance Criminal Investigation Branch’s Fraud Division. Investigators found that Garza had received workers’ compensation benefits from Zenith Insurance for a broken hand he claimed to have suffered during a work-related accident. Garza actually broke his hand two weeks earlier in a domestic dispute. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail and three years probation. Plus, Garza must reimburse Zenith $29,000.