NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.
Select a state from the dropdown menu below to scroll through the state specific archives for updates and opinions on various workers’ compensation laws in your state.
Contact information for NWCDN members is also located on the state specific links in the event you have additional questions or your company is seeking a workers’ compensation lawyer in your state.
By: Kelly Hamilton (Office Managing Attorney - Redding)
We've all been there . . . you file a Petition for Reconsideration and advise your client that we will have an answer within 60 days. Then, on day 59, the WCAB issues a "grant and study" order, which essentially gives them an indefinite time period to issue a decision. You are then in limbo potentially for years.
There has now been a Petition filed with the 2nd DCA arguing that the practice is unconstitutional on its face. They further argue that it violates the "compensation bargain" of California workers' compensation because it denies a speedy delivery of benefits. It is noted that some of the "grant and study" orders were issued within 10 days of the filing of the Petition for Reconsideration.
The article states that there have been over 500 "grant and study" orders issued in the last three years. In part this is due to the reduced number of commissioners, having been short anywhere from one to three commissioners. Currently there are six commissioners and there must be three on a panel to issue a decision.
Read more on the Hanna Brophy website:
https://highlights.hannabrophy.com/post/102hkbe/2nd-dca-to-evaluate-constitutionality-of-grant-study-orders