Server Maintenance
Ah! Internet server maintenance!
As they say, “valar dohaeris” … “All men must serve.”
The calculators will be back soon.
Author: Jay Shergill
Workers' Compensation Defense Attorney. Certified Specialist Workers Compensation Law. California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. Partner at Purinton, Jimenez, Labo & Wu, LLP
New Legislation and Calculator Updates!
As you are probably aware there have been a number of changes to workers’ compensation benefit rates lately. The Administrative Director issued the latest temporary disability maximum and minimum rates based upon the most recent increases in the state average weekly wage. These rate changes effect temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, death benefits, and permanent total disability benefits.
More interestingly, the legislature brought several reform changes with SB 863 to California workers’ compensation benefits late on Friday August 31, 2012. If you check out the updated Labor Code Section 4453, you’ll notice there is a new maximum permanent partial disability rate for the highest levels of permanent disability for dates of injury after 1/1/2013. And, reviewing Labor Code Section 4658, you’ll see the 15% adjustments have been removed for dates of injury after 1/1/2013.
All of the website’s calculators have been updated to reflect these latest changes! Enjoy!
New Calculator! COLA SAWW Commutation Reports
I’m happy to announce the single most-requested service for this website – a COLA SAWW commutation reports. 1 This calculator provides professional quality PDF’s using the same familiar format as the Disability Evaluation Unit. Now you don’t have to wait for the DEU and you don’t have to tip your hand to the opposing side about what you think the case might be worth.
Download a sample report right now to see the kind of detailed commutation reports that get cases resolved. These COLA commutation reports are delivered instantly to your e-mail. You can customize the report with everything you want – from a State Average Weekly Wage increase percentage of your choosing, to attorney fee percentage, and whether a Labor Code Section 4658(d) increase is applicable.
And, best of all, when you purchase one of these reports for $197.00 ($147.00 for PDRater sponsored users!) it comes with unlimited FREE additional reports on the same case. (Don’t worry – it doesn’t cost anything to play with the calculator). Whether you need to change the permanent disability rate, SAWW increase percentage, or just want a fresh report with a new commutation date – every single report on the same case will be delivered to you instantly and for free.
Try out the COLA SAWW commutation calculator out for yourself!
Ever Wonder Where 4.6% Comes From?
Even with the recent Baker v. WCAB decision settling when the increase in state average weekly wage (SAWW) is applied, litigation continues over the precise future SAWW percentage to use in a commutation of life pension benefits. The DEU is currently using an assumed annual SAWW increase of 4.6% “based on a 50 year average.” 1
Before we consider how the DEU calculates future SAWW increases, it is necessary to look back to past SAWW changes. In the last 50 years there have been only two instances where the SAWW has decreased from the prior year. Since Labor Code Sections 4659(c) and 4453(a)(10) only apply increases in the SAWW to life pensions and permanent total disability benefits, there is no effect on the benefit rates for those two years.
When the DEU indicates a historical 50-year average of SAWW increases, they mean exactly that. Thus, instead of averaging the decreases in the SAWW with the increases, the DEU averages only the increases of the historical SAWW data. (I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up – 2004 and 2011 are the only instances in the last 50 years of any reduction in the state average weekly wage). An average of just the SAWW increases over the last 50 years does come to 4.6%.
If you’re interested in verifying this information for yourself, I’ve prepared a list of the data used by the DEU in computing the 50-year average of SAWW increases.
- Andrea Marutti via Compfight [↩]
You’re Busy and Important…
It’s not easy being busy and important. I get that. 1
And that’s why I’m just trying to make your life just a little bit easier with our new permanent and stationary report rating service.
Need a rating fast? Need “old schedule” and “new schedule” ratings?
No problem. Just fill out the handy referral form and fax or e-mail us your permanent and stationary reports and one of our Certified Impairment Rating Specialist will quickly e-mail you the rating you need to move your case forward. 23
What do you want in a professional rating?
We’ve all seen ratings from various sources – the DEU, opposing counsel, clients, and professional raters. 1 My question to all of you dear readers is – what do you like to see in a professional permanent disability rating?
- Photo Credit: Shira Golding via Compfight [↩]
Looking for a few good testers
I’m getting ready to launch a new workers’ compensation calculator and I could use your help. 1 I still need a few volunteers to help me test a permanent disability, life pension, and total permanent disability COLA commutation calculator. Right now I need a few applicant attorneys, defense attorneys, and claims examiners.
Here’s what you need:
- Any free or paid PDRater account
- A familiarity with DEU COLA commutations
- A familiarity with recent Baker decision
- A willingness to answer a few questions
If this sounds like something you would be interested in helping with, please send me an e-mail!
- Photo Credit: Davide Reppucci via Compfight [↩]
How To Find the Owner of a Lost Tablet Computer
A few weeks ago I was at the Oakland WCAB when a Judge asked me if I could help find the owner of a lost tablet computer. 1 I was handed the tablet… but was unable to turn it on. It turned out that the computer had been turned on and the battery drained down to nothing. There was no charge cable, no standard USB charging port, no way to power the device, and nothing about it that apparently indicated the identity of its owner.
Here’s what I tried:
- I looked all over the tablet and inside the case. Any mobile PC you own should have something identifying it.
- I looked all over the tablet for a way to possibly charge the device. Even had I been able to do this, I probably wouldn’t be able to get past the unlock/password screen.
- The vast majority of 3G/4G mobile broadband computers will have a little tiny “SIM” card in it. It is a tiny chip about a quarter of the size of a standard SD card. In some devices you have to open the battery compartment to get to it. If you can remove the chip you can find out who the broadband carrier is. In this case the chip had the Verizon name and logo as well as a 10 digit number printed right on it. It’s that number that lets the tablet PC’s user connect their computer to their Verizon account. I then called Verizon, spoke to one of their representatives, told them the 10 digit code, gave them my cell number, and about fifteen minutes later the owner of the PC (a friend of mine as it turned out!) called me up!
So, the moral of the story is to make sure you put something on your mobile PC to indicate your ownership so that if someone finds it, they can let you.
Applicant Attorney Pro Tip: Four ways to get paid sooner
Here’s a pro-tip for you Applicant attorneys. Some insurance companies and TPA’s are actually unable to issue payments to entities unless they have their Tax ID number. Making it easy for defendants to issue payment means you’ll get paid sooner.1
Here are the top three ways to get paid sooner:
- Put your Tax ID number on the settlement documents
- Put your Tax ID number on your website
- Make sure your receptionist has your Tax ID number ready to give out
- Put your Tax ID number in your automated voice mail message
Mo’ Reptiles, Mo’ Problems
A friend of mine is an Applicant’s attorney who uses dictation software with his work computer. 1 As you may know, dictation and voice recognition software is pretty good – but it is not always successful. My friend, I’ll call him “Tom,”2 was sending an e-mail demand for medication to a defense attorney using his dictation software. The software got the phrase wrong, but given that the result was extremely entertaining, he sent it anyway.
What was his demand, you may ask?
Medication for his client’s “reptile dysfunction.” 3
- Photo courtesy of dmuphotography [↩]
- After all, that is his name… [↩]
- Other possible names for this post:
- I got 99 problems, and a reptile ain’t one
- Reptile problems
- What do Bob Dole and the Geiko gekko have in common? [↩]