Grinberg: Elements of WCAB Reopening in Particular person| Staff Compensation Information

Of Gregory Grinberg

Tuesday, July 27, 2021 | 0

The question that every Californian and of course every industrial accident doctor asks himself again and again is whether we will return to “normalcy” and if so, when? For well over a year now, every hearing has been either over the phone or through LifeSize, and almost every testimony has been made through Zoom or its equivalent.

Gregory Grinberg

With vaccinations nearing “herd immunity” in California, you’d have thought we were on our way back to the great halls of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and our scientific trade in suits and ties instead of shorts and flip-flops exercise.

But maybe that shouldn’t be the case with the Delta variant. In addition, after over a year, lawyers, judges and clients have recognized the benefits of a relatively remote system.

For example, defense attorneys no longer have to bill their clients for travel time, as the generosity of the defense attorney often does without the drive from the bedroom via the kitchen to the living room out of professional courtesy. In addition, the applicants’ lawyers never had to bill for travel time to the WCAB, but they can now represent their clients in more than one location each morning and use this travel time to prepare their cases and advise their clients.

I think the judges also benefit from the fact that they don’t have to brave the traffic to and from work and can spend more of their precious hours judging disputes on the panel and evaluating litigation over the usage test of handkerchiefs worth $ 27.35 .

The Labor Relations Department has signaled a bias towards reopening as portions of the WCAB venues are reopening starting today, including the front desk to answer questions and receive personal submissions. The main purpose of this is, of course, to improve access to the WCAB for unrepresented injured workers.

For now, at least, all hearings and litigation are still being conducted over the phone and LifeSize, but I put my weight on wanting things to stay the way they are.

Gregory Grinberg is the managing partner of Gale, Sutow & Associates’ SF Bay South office and a certified employee injury law specialist. This post was reprinted with permission from Grinberg’s WCDefenseCA blog.