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Bryan Knittel injured his knee in 2009 while working as an Alameda County Deputy Sheriff. Knittel was unable to perform his duties after the injury, and the County of Alameda (County) paid disability benefits from the date of his injury.

He was classified as temporarily disabled for over two years. For the first year Knittel was disabled, the County paid him benefits pursuant to Labor Code section 4850. Under that section, public safety officers who are disabled in the course of their duties are entitled to a leave of absence without loss of salary for up to one year. After the first year passed, the County paid Knittel "regular" temporary disability indemnity benefits for another year. The County then ceased to pay temporary disability indemnity, citing the 104-week limit on aggregate disability payments for an injury causing temporary disability. (Labor Code 4656, subd. (c)(2).).

Knittel disputed the County’s interpretation of the law and requested a hearing before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). At the hearing, the workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) assigned to the matter agreed with Knittel, concluding section 4850 benefits do not "count toward the two-year limitation under Section 4656." The County filed a petition for reconsideration. The WCAB denied the petition in an order that merely adopted the reasons stated by the WCJ in his report. The County then filed a petition for review. The Court of Appeal in the published opinion of County of Alameda v WCAB and Bryan Knittel reversed the WCAB and remanded the case for further proceedings.

The Court noted that there have not been any prior decisions have interpreted the statutory language of Labor Code 4656, subd. (c)(2) at issue in this appeal.

There is a special benefit for injured public safety officers. Pursuant to section 4850, eligible public safety officers who become disabled while performing their duties are entitled to a one-year leave of absence without loss of salary "in lieu of temporary disability payments" for up to one year. If the disability continues beyond one year, the officer is entitled to an unpaid leave of absence and whatever other benefits that might be available under the workers’ compensation law.

In 2004, as part of a comprehensive reform of the workers’ compensation law, the Legislature enacted a 104-week limit on disability payments for an injury causing temporary disability. The law currently (and at the time Knittel was injured) provides: "Aggregate disability payments for a single injury occurring on or after January 1, 2008, causing temporary disability shall not extend for more than 104 compensable weeks within a period of five years from the date of injury." (§ 4656, subd. (c)(2).). The question here is the meaning of "[a]ggregate disability payments." The Labor Code does not define the phrase. The County argued that the phrase also encompasses other disability payments for injuries causing temporary disability, including the salary continuation benefit payable to public safety officers pursuant to section 4850.

The Court of Appeal concluded that "The County’s arguments are persuasive. If section 4850 payments are workers’ compensation benefits, then they are part of the "aggregate" of disability payments when they are paid for an injury causing temporary disability. Knittel received an aggregate of two types of workers’ compensation benefits for his temporary disability: section 4850 salary continuation benefits and temporary disability indemnity. Pursuant to section 4656, subdivision (c)(2), Knittel was entitled to a total of 104 weeks of those combined disability benefits, and he received 52 weeks of section 4850 benefits and 52 weeks of temporary disability indemnity."The reasoning employed by the WCJ to reach the conclusion that section 4850 benefits are not included in aggregate disability payments is unconvincing."

The current form of the 104-week limit, subdivision (c)(2) of section 4656, was added by the Legislature in 2007. "Ultimately we agree with the County that the Legislature expressed its intent in the plain language of section 4656, subdivision (c)(2). Given the Legislature’s choice of the words "[a]ggregate disability payments," we think it is clear that section 4850 benefits paid for an injury causing temporary disability must count toward the 104-week limit absent a specific exclusion. Our conclusion is bolstered by the fact that when the Legislature added subdivision (c)(2), the case authority holding section 4850 payments are workers’ compensation benefits was long standing and well established."

"It appears the Legislature tried to reach a compromise with subdivision (c)(2) of section 4656 - a year of enhanced benefits for public safety officers under section 4850 followed by a year of temporary disability indemnity. To the extent the law is not working or the compromise is unfair, the parties should bring their concerns to the attention of the Legislature." ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
Bernardino Mejia-Gutierrez began working for AC Square in 2001. AC Square was hired by Comcast to install, maintain, repair, and replace cable utility lines (drop lines), which run from a utility pole to a customer’s building. On the day of his accident, Mejia-Gutierrez was at the jobsite and had already determined that he would use a ladder rather than a bucket truck to do the job To replace the drop line, Mejia-Gutierrez hung his ladder from the mid-span wire. After he ascended the ladder, the wire he was going to replace snapped where there was a knot in it, which made the ladder rock back and forth. Then another wire, which was attached to an adjacent house, snapped, which made the ladder rock even more. Mejia-Gutierrez lost his balance and fell some 26 feet to the ground. As a result of the injuries he sustained in the fall, Mejia-Gutierrez received workers’ compensation benefits from Seabright Insurance Company..

Seabright Insurance Company intervened in a negligence action brought by Bernardino Mejia-Gutierrez and his wife Elvira Vasquez against Comcast of California III, Inc. for on-the-job injuries Mejia-Gutierrez sustained while working for AC Square, a cable company hired as a subcontractor by Comcast. On March 18, 2010, Vasquez dismissed her claim and, on April 5, 2011, Mejia-Gutierrez dismissed his claim with prejudice. At that point, Seabright was the only remaining plaintiff in the case.

On April 13, 2011, Comcast filed a motion for summary judgment. On June 12, 2011, the trial court granted Comcast’s summary judgment motion, ruling that Seabright had not raised a triable issue of material fact as to Comcast "either having negligently exercised retained control, or having breached a relevant non-delegable duty." Seabright appealed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Comcast. The Court of Appeal sustained the judgment in favor of Comcast in the unpublished decision of Bernardo Mejia-Gutierrez v Comcast of California.

Under the peculiar risk doctrine, a person who hires an independent contractor to perform work that is inherently dangerous can be held liable for tort damages when the contractor’s negligent performance of the work causes injuries to others. In Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689, 691, the California Supreme Court for the first time addressed the potential conflict between the peculiar risk doctrine, as applied in favor of the contractor’s employees, and the system of workers’ compensation. "When an employee of the independent contractor hired to do dangerous work suffers a work-related injury, the employee is entitled to recovery under the state’s workers’ compensation system. That statutory scheme, which affords compensation regardless of fault, advances the same policies that underlie the doctrine of peculiar risk. Thus, when the contractor’s failure to provide safe working conditions results in injury to the contractor’s employee, additional recovery from the person who hired the contractor - a nonnegligent party - advances no societal interest that is not already served by the workers’ compensation system." The Court therefore joined "the majority of jurisdictions in precluding such recovery under the doctrine of peculiar risk."

Our Supreme Court further developed the principles discussed in Privette and Toland in Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198, 202 (Hooker), holding that an independent contractor’s employee can recover in tort from the contractor’s hirer if the hirer retained control of safety conditions at a worksite and its negligent exercise of that retained control "affirmatively contributed to the employee’s injuries."

In sum, the Privette line of cases "establishes that an independent contractor’s hirer presumptively delegates to that contractor its tort law duty to provide a safe workplace for the contractor’s employees."

In the present case, Seabright contends the evidence raised triable issues of material fact as to whether Comcast retained control of the jobsite and affirmatively contributed to Mejia-Gutierrez’s injuries. It also contends the evidence raised a triable issue of material fact as to whether Comcast breached a nondelegable regulatory duty to provide Mejia-Gutierrez with a safe workplace.

The Court conclude that, regardless of whether there were problems with either of the wires that snapped, such as crystallization or a knot, which played a part in its snapping, the general duty of rule to "frequently and thoroughly" inspect lines to ensure they are in good condition - is not a basis for holding Comcast liable for Mejia-Gutierrez’s injuries. This is particularly so, given that Mejia-Gutierrez, on behalf of AC Square, was specifically responsible for discerning and addressing problems with drop lines and ensuing job site safety ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
Patriot National Insurance Group, a leading provider of workers' compensation insurance solutions announced the appointment of Michael McFadden as Regional Vice President for California. As RVP, Mr. McFadden will oversee all marketing and underwriting responsibilities for California, and will be based at Patriot's western regional office in Woodland Hills, CA.

Steven Mariano, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Patriot National Insurance Group said, "Mike's extensive workers' compensation background and strong leadership make him the natural choice to lead the California region. We are excited to continue our expansion in California operations."

Mr. McFadden said, "Since joining Patriot in October of 2011 its been a tremendous experience expanding our west coast regional headquarters. The RVP position will allow me to continue to grow the talent within our operation, which now includes local underwriting presence, while also having personal involvement in the production and distribution channels in the region."

Before joining Patriot National, Mr. McFadden held various leadership positions at Zenith Insurance Company and was most recently Zenith's Vice President of Claims for the Los Angeles regional office. Mr. McFadden was also the manager of Organizational Development for RJM Adjusters, Inc. He graduated from University of Phoenix with a degree in Business Management.

Patriot National Insurance Group is an insurance holding company focused on workers' compensation insurance. Patriot National Insurance Group has two operating subsidiaries- Guarantee Insurance Company and Patriot Underwriters, Inc ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
Sedgwick announced today that Steven E. Penman has been named the company's chief operating officer.

Spending nearly his entire storied career with Sedgwick, Penman joined the company in 1978 and since then has served in several management and leadership roles. As chief information officer, Penman oversaw the original design and development of the JURIS® system, Sedgwick's industry-leading proprietary technology platform that remains the heart and soul of its business. Under Penman's leadership, cutting-edge systems and technology became an integral part of Sedgwick's service offerings.

Penman later transitioned to the operations side of the business, spending nearly a decade as director of field operations with management responsibility for Sedgwick's claims servicing teams. Most recently, he served as executive vice president of specialty operations, helping Sedgwick grow its specialty claims operations, customer service centers, ancillary services, and clinical and cost containment operations.

Penman began his professional career at Blue Cross Blue Shield, programming the company's Medicare claims system. He is also a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps.

"Thanks to Steve Penman 's thirty-plus years of service with Sedgwick and his wealth of industry knowledge and experience, he understands our business - and that of our clients - inside and out," said David A. North , Sedgwick's president and CEO. "Steve is the ideal person to help lead our company to the next stage of our continued growth and development."

Sedgwick and its affiliated companies deliver claims, productivity, managed care, risk consulting, and other services to clients through the expertise of more than 10,000 colleagues in 195 offices located in the U.S. and Canada. The company specializes in workers' compensation; disability, FMLA, and other employee absence; managed care; general, automobile, and professional liability; warranty and credit card claims services; fraud and investigation; structured settlements; and Medicare compliance solutions. Sedgwick and its affiliates design and implement customized programs based on proven practices and advanced technology that exceed client expectations. For eight years in a row, Sedgwick has been awarded the distinguished Employer of Choice® certification, the only third-party administrator (TPA) to receive this designation. In 2011 and 2012, the company was named the Best Overall Large Account TPA by buyers of risk services through an independent survey conducted by Business Insurance ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
A prominent La Jolla oncologist and his corporate medical practice have pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme to import unapproved foreign cancer drugs at a deep discount, dispense them to unwitting patients, bill Medicare as if the drugs were legitimate, and pocket the profits. In a hearing before United States Magistrate Judge Bernard Skomal on January 15, Dr. Joel I Bernstein entered a guilty plea to a single count of introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce - in this case, a cancer drug called "Mabthera" intended for market in Turkey - and administering it to patients. The approved United States drug with the same active ingredient is Rituxan, which is used to treat lymphomas and leukemias such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Bernstein was released pending sentencing, which is scheduled for April 16 at 1:30 PM before Judge Skomal. In addition, his medical practice, Dr. Joel I Bernstein, MD. Inc ., also pleaded guilty at a hearing today before United States District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo to one count of health care fraud.

According to the plea agreement with the corporation, employees of Dr. Joel I Bernstein, MD. Inc. purchased $3.4 million of foreign cancer drugs, knowing they had not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States.

From 2007 to 2011, Bernstein’s office purchased these drugs for significantly less than market value in the United States and then submitted claims to Medicare at the full reimbursement price. To conceal the scheme, the office fraudulently used Medicare reimbursement codes for approved cancer drugs, as Medicare does not pay for unapproved drugs. The plea agreement for the corporation also calls for $1.7 million in restitution to Medicare, plus forfeiture of $1.2 million in profits. The corporate medical practice is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17, 2013, before Unites States District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo.

In addition, the government has also filed a False Claims Act lawsuit in District Court against Dr. Bernstein and his medical corporation for submitting false claims to the Medicare Program for these unapproved drugs. According to this civil complaint, the Medicare Program was defrauded of over $1.7 million, and under the False Claims Act, the United States can recover triple the amount of damages plus monetary penalties.

The cases involving Dr. Bernstein and his practice are the latest example of an alarming nationwide trend that potentially puts patients at risk by exposing them to foreign drugs - particularly injectable chemotherapy drugs - that are not vetted by the FDA. Agency officials have described the trend as an "epidemic of unapproved and counterfeit drugs." The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) currently has over 200 investigations nationwide involving schemes in which medical practices purchase foreign, unapproved drugs and dispense them to unsuspecting patients for personal financial gain. This practice is particularly disturbing because, unlike traditional prescription drugs which are dispensed to the patient by a pharmacy, oncology drugs are typically infused into a patient without the patient ever seeing the box it came in, or any of the related labeling. "This isn’t just about the greed of one doctor but about the welfare of many patients," said United States Attorney Laura Duffy.

There have been numerous similar cases of illegal importation and distribution of foreign unapproved drugs in San Diego and around the United States in recent years. In cases related to Bernstein, a Florida-based cancer-drug supplier, Martin Paul Bean, III was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Diego in September 2012 for allegedly selling more than $7 million of misbranded and unapproved prescription oncology drugs to United States doctors. Please see 12-cr-03734-WQH USA. The indictment alleged that from 2005 to 2011, Bean, doing business as GlobalRxStore; ordered the misbranded and unapproved drugs from foreign countries, including Turkey, India, and Pakistan; and sold them to the doctors throughout the United States at substantially discounted prices via a wholesale pharmacy in San Diego.

That pharmacy - Oberlin Medical Supply and Service Corp. - was owned and operated by Maher Idriss, who pleaded guilty March 8, 2012, to conspiring with Bean to supply the unapproved drugs. Idriss acknowledged that United States doctors paid him over $7 million for foreign-sourced unapproved oncology drugs from May 2006 to May 2011. Idriss faces up to five years in prison and restitution and has already forfeited approximately $54,000 of profits. He is scheduled for sentencing May 20, 2013.

Elsewhere in the country, doctors, office staff, and drug suppliers in Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, and California were indicted in similar schemes in 2011 and 2012. They were accused of importing misbranded cancer drugs at significantly cheaper prices, providing them to patients without disclosing the source of the drugs, and then submitting claims for reimbursement from healthcare programs. It was the FDA’s discovery of two counterfeit drugs - Avastin, the approved blockbuster cancer drug for treatment of colorectal, lung, kidney, and brain cancer; and Altuzan, the unapproved Turkish version of Avastin - that brought national media attention to the problem. The Altuzan was found to contain no active ingredient at all and thus would provide no benefit whatsoever to patients ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
The thousands of lawsuits that have been filed nationwide, and the workers' compensation claims filed by NFL players in California have triggered safety concerns that some say may lead to the end of the NFL. Bernard Pollard, the hard-hitting Baltimore Ravens safety told CBSSports.com recently that he doesn't believe the league will be in existence in 30 years because of rules changes instituted in an effort to make the game safer, and the chance a player might die on the field as players continue to get stronger and faster.

"Thirty years from now, I don't think it will be in existence. I could be wrong. It's just my opinion, but I think with the direction things are going -- where [NFL rules makers] want to lighten up, and they're throwing flags and everything else -- there's going to come a point where fans are going to get fed up with it," he told the website. "Guys are getting fined, and they're talking about, 'Let's take away the strike zone' and 'Take the pads off' or 'Take the helmets off.' It's going to be a thing where fans aren't going to want to watch it anymore."

The issue of football safety was on the mind of President Barack Obama recently when he told The New Republic in an interview for its Feb. 11 issue that, if he had a son, he would think long and hard before allowing him to play the sport.. Obama told the magazine that football fans are going to have to wrestle with the fact that the game will probably change over time to try to reduce the violence. The president says that some of those changes might make football, in his words, "a bit less exciting" but that it will be much better for players. "And those of us who are fans maybe won't have to examine our consciences quite as much," he said.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello responded to Obama's comments Sunday, saying the NFL has "no higher priority than player health and safety at all levels of the game."

Pollard said he understands the movement to make the game safer for players, but coaches are looking for players who are "stronger and faster year in and year out. And that means you're going to keep getting big hits and concussions and blown-out knees. "The only thing I'm waiting for ... and, Lord, I hope it doesn't happen ... is a guy dying on the field. We've had everything else happen there except for a death. We understand what we signed up for, and it sucks," he told the website.

Pollard has a reputation for big hits. He was fined $15,250 for unnecessary roughness last week for his third-quarter hit on New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker in the Ravens' AFC Championship Game victory. Pollard received a 15-yard penalty on the play for striking an opponent in the head and neck area. He also forced a crucial fumble, however, by knocking running back Stevan Ridley out of that game. He was not penalized or fined for the hit on Ridley ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
The California Applicants' Attorney Winter 2013 Convention is now underway at the San Diego Sheraton and Marina Hotel. The annual meeting will continue until Sunday January 27. The focus on this years convention is "Navigating Your Way Through The Comp System Since SB 863." Panelists on the first day of the event discussed Medical Control's and MPNs as well as Discovery and Right to Privacy.

It was not unexpected that panelists anticipate constitutional challenges to the validity of some of the provisions of S.B. 863. The same view was expressed by panelists at the Employers Fraud Task Force presentation earlier this month. It is not clear who or when this challenge will take place, but the consensus is that the theory will involve the constitutional requirement for due process of law. Simply stated, there is a constitutional requirement for a dispute resolution mechanism that provides notice and and opportunity to be heard. The challenge to S.B. 863 will claim that the Independent Bill Review and the Independent Medical Review process does not achieve minimum standards of due process of law. The constitutional argument theorizes that the two administrative procedures do not allow claimants or the employer the ability to argue their case before the decision maker in either of these two administrative processes, and since there is no effective right to appeal before the WCAB on matters of expert opinion, the administrative process falls short of the constitutional requirement.

Panelists also discussed the discovery and privacy rights that changed under the new law. The provisions of LC 4903.6(d) now says that medical information that can not be sent to non-physician lien claimants without written authorization from the WCAB. WCAB Orders must specify what is to be disclosed, and findings that it is relevant. There will be a greater emphasis now on protecting the privacy rights of the injured worker. From the applicants' standpoint, subpoenas that request "any and all" records would be over broad and subject to petitions to limit that discovery.

LC 5502(b) now includes "whether the injured employee is required to obtain treatment within a medical provider network" as an appropriate issue for an expedited hearing. Presenters claimed that applicant attorneys will now seek expedited hearings on MPN issues since S.B. 868 did away with the rights of the employer to transfer workers back into an MPN, and for that reason if they get out of the MPN, they will remain out indefinitely with "that" treating physician.

The 2013 CAAA Convention continues today and over the weekend. A topic for Friday is "New Ethical Considerations Under SB863" Conflicts of Interest - Dealing with the rules and potential problems - Attorneys, doctors and their staff...... Be aware! - What is an attorney’s legal obligation? On Saturday the topics will include "Utilization Review - UR: What about denied claims or partial denied claims? - Independent Medical Review - Employer to serve applicant attorney with all materials sent to IMR - Time limitations; what happens if review is untimely? - Is there a role for the AME or PQME in treatment disputes?" ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
Effective January 1, 2013, the California Workers' Compensation Experience Rating Plan - 1995 (Experience Rating Plan) was updated to reflect new experience rating values to be utilized in the calculation of experience modifications effective on or after January 1, 2013. The new values include expected loss rates, which are updated every year, and revised primary credibility and excess credibility values, which are updated every few years. As a result, some employers will receive lower experience modifications than otherwise would have been the case, and some will receive a higher experience modification. Additionally, experience modifications for individual employers change from year to year based on a variety of factors such as changes in payroll, changes in claims, and overall changes within the employer's industry classification.

The need for regular updates to experience rating credibility values was one of the findings of the Insurance Commissioner's 2008 Experience Rating Task Force. Since then, the WCIRB has routinely reviewed Experience Rating Plan credibility values to ensure that the experience rating system operates fairly and efficiently. As the payroll and claims experience of California experience rated employers evolves, so too must the credibility values in order to maintain the Experience Rating Plan's actuarial balance. The last change to credibility values was in 2010.

At the core of experience rating is a comparison of an employer's actual claim costs to the average claims costs expected for the experience period of all employers of similar size and industry classification. As part of this comparison, the experience rating formula takes into consideration how much weight is applied to the actual claims experience of an individual employer. The weight, or credibility, in the experience rating formula is intended to reflect the statistical reliability of the employer's past claims experience as a predictor of future claims experience.

High credibility means that more of an employer's actual experience is used in the experience modification calculation. For larger employers, actual claims experience is predictive of that employer's potential future claims experience; therefore, larger employers have higher credibility values. The experience of small employers does have some predictive value in determining the potential for future claims, however, their claims experience can be volatile and can be more a function of chance. As a result, small employers are assigned lower credibility values in the experience rating formula.

In 2012, the WCIRB proposed, and the Commissioner approved, changes to the credibility values based on an actuarial analysis of the most current individual employer loss and payroll experience available at the time. Consistent with this most recent experience, the credibility assigned to most employers' actual claim history increased slightly effective January 1, 2013.

The adopted January 1, 2013 changes in credibility values are modest, and their impact on 2013 experience modifications is also modest. To estimate the impact of the proposed changes in credibility, the WCIRB re-computed the historical experience modifications for over 100,000 experience rated employers using the new credibility values. Based on this analysis, the WCIRB estimates that approximately 64% of all experience modifications will be impacted by 3 percentage points or less by the changes in credibility values and approximately 90% will be impacted by 10 percentage points or less.

In other words, for most employers, all else being equal, somewhat greater weight is being given to their own claim experience. Employers that have better than average experience will generally receive a lower credit experience modification in 2013 than they would have received in 2012. Conversely, employers that have poor experience will generally receive a higher experience modification.

Changes in experience modifications due to the changes in the underlying Experience Rating Plan credibility values do not increase the amount of total premium collected in the workers' compensation system as the increases and decreases in experience modifications will generally offset each other in the aggregate ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
As U.S. health care goes high tech, spurred by $20 billion in federal stimulus incentives, the widespread adoption of electronic medical records and related digital technologies is predicted to reduce errors and lower costs -- but it is also likely to significantly boost musculoskeletal injuries among doctors and nurses, concludes a Cornell University ergonomics professor in two new papers. According to the report summarized in Science Daily, the repetitive strain injuries will stem from poor office layouts and improper use of computer devices.

"Many hospitals are investing heavily in new technology with almost no consideration for principles of ergonomics design for computer workplaces," said Alan Hedge, professor of human factors and ergonomics in Cornell's College of Human Ecology's Department of Design and Environmental Analysis. "We saw a similar pattern starting in the 1980s when commercial workplaces computerized, and there was an explosion of musculoskeletal injuries for more than a decade afterward."

For a paper published in the Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 56th Annual Meeting, held Oct. 22-26 in Boston, Hedge and James asked 179 physicians about the frequency and severity of their musculoskeletal discomfort, computer use in their clinic, knowledge of ergonomics and typing skills. The most commonly reported repetitive strain injuries were neck, shoulder and upper and lower back pain -- with a majority of female doctors and more than 40 percent of male doctors reporting such ailments on at least a weekly basis. About 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men reported right wrist injuries at a similar frequency.

"These rates are alarming. When more than 40 percent of employees are complaining about regular problems, that's a sign something needs to be done to address it," said Hedge. "In a lot of hospitals and medical offices, workplace safety focuses on preventing slips, trips and falls and on patient handling, but the effects of computer use on the human body are neglected."

The gender differences, the authors write, appear to be in part because women reported spending about an hour longer on the computer per day than men.

In a second study of 180 physicians and 63 nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the same health system, published in a new volume, "Advances in Human Aspects of Healthcare" (CRC Press), more than 90 percent of respondents reported using a desktop computer at work. On average, they spent more than five hours per day using computers.

Fifty-six percent of doctors and 71 percent of nurse practitioners and physician assistants said their computer use at work had increased in the past year; 22 percent of doctors and 19 percent of nurse practitioners and physician assistants reported less time in face-to-face interactions with patients. Only about 5 percent of participants reported an "expert knowledge" of ergonomics, and more than two-thirds said they had no input in the planning or design of their computer or clinical workstation.

"We can't assume that just because people are doctors or work in health care that they know about ergonomics," Hedge said. "With so many potential negative effects for doctors and patients, it is critical that the implementation of new technology is considered from a design and ergonomics perspective." ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
Kaiser Permanente Southern California announced that Sang Manoharan, MD, has been appointed regional chief of Occupational Medicine for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. In his new role, Dr. Manoharan will lead Kaiser On-the-Job, Kaiser Permanente’s employer-based injury care health program.

"I am very pleased to be able to contribute to the value that Kaiser On-the-Job already brings, beyond workers’ compensation costs reduction, but most importantly, the opportunity to lead the most dominant employer-based health care strategy for injury care in the foreseeable future of California," says Dr. Manoharan. "I am honored to be part of Kaiser On-the-Job, an integrated health care delivery system that increases effectiveness, boosts productivity, protects long-term health and lowers costs. This is coordination that delivers quantifiable results that no other provider can offer."

In addition to overseeing Kaiser On-the-Job occupational injury care and return-to-work services, Dr. Manoharan will coordinate an integrated approach to care with Kaiser On-the-Job physicians, associates and health care professionals, providing other non-injury medical services including pre-placement/post-job-offer examinations; fitness-for-duty and return-to-work examinations; Department of Transportation examinations; among other medical screenings and services.

Dr. Manoharan will be responsible for the 19 dedicated occupational health centers located within Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California facilities, many of which are conveniently located on Kaiser Permanente campuses. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente has 74 dedicated occupational health centers throughout California, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon and Colorado.

With Kaiser On-the-Job, any worker - regardless of health insurance membership - who is employed by a company that chooses this essential benefit as part of its health care strategy, is able to access Kaiser On-the-Job health care services. Some of these additional services include urgent and after-hours care, available 24 hours a day, every day; and coordinated clinical services such as lab testing, X-rays, pharmacy, specialty care and physical therapy, all within the Kaiser Permanente integrated care model. Some services are offered at Kaiser On-the-Job occupational health centers, and many others can be made available at the workplace.

With over 24 years of practice, for the past five and a half years, Dr. Manoharan served as chief of Occupational Health Services for Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center. He will be working closely with John T. Harbaugh, MD, Occupational Medicine physician director, Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Dr. Harbaugh has provided leadership to Kaiser-On-the-Job since 2001. As part of a new leadership structure for the program, Dr. Manoharan and Dr. Harbaugh anticipate continued program growth and delivering quality occupational medical care in Southern California ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
An elaborate, international health-care fraud ring that stole millions from taxpayers started to come unraveled when an Ohio gynecologist called investigators after receiving insurance payments for male patients. Ultimately, according to the story in the Dayton Daily News, two California men went to federal prison as purported ringleaders of the operation, but not before making off with more than $13 million in Medicare payments for nonexistent medical services. In a case that illustrates a common health-care fraud scheme.Karen Chilyan and Eduard Oganesyan are serving eight and 11 years, respectively. At large are Lilit Galstyan, Julieta Ghazaryan and Marine Movsisyan, who were last week placed on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ most-wanted list. Federal prosecutors say these people were involved in an Armenian criminal network that billed Medicare for more than $48 million, using the stolen identities of doctors and patients from Ohio and 39 other states.

"This is the new face of organized crime," Steven Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said. "It used to be what you saw in ‘The Godfather" but now it’s someone with Internet access stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. This money is being sucked right out of our health-care system."

The bust was part of a nationwide sweep in 2010 in which 73 people were indicted in New York, Georgia, California and New Mexico. Overall, the fraud ring submitted more than $100 million in bogus Medicare claims. The group ripped pages straight from the medical fraud playbook, executing what federal investigators call a "drop box scheme."

Here’s how the scam worked. Chilyan, Oganesyan and others in California first stole doctors’ identities, finding most of the basic information on the Internet. The hard part was getting Social Security numbers, although those were available on the black market. They then leased office space in Canfield, Ohio, and claimed it was occupied by those doctors. They also set up an empty storefront in Columbus for the gynecologist, along with other businesses in other states. True to the real estate axiom, Columbus and Canfield were chosen because of their locations. The doctors’ real offices were in Columbus and Cleveland, and the scammers needed a spot at least 60 miles away so their mail wouldn’t accidentally be sent to the real offices. Sometimes, the scammers rented an empty storefront as the business location. But often they used a private mailbox company which, unlike a post office box, gives the appearance of a street address while leaving a smaller paper trial. After registering the business with the state, scammers then registered each fake company with the federal government as a medical provider, often listing the mailbox as its address.

The next step was finding patients. Again, they used identity theft. Court records say Chilyan and Oganesyan used the identities of several Medicare recipients in Ohio. "A lot of the information is available for public websites for doctors. (For) the Medicare beneficiaries, there seems to be a stolen list that is pretty obtainable from the black market," said John Leahy, special agent with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in Cleveland. Scammers often call senior citizens pretending to be with Medicare and ask for their information. And just like that, they were in business.

Court documents say Chilyan and Oganesyan billed Medicare for more than $2.1 million between Feb. 25 and March 21, 2008, for two Ohio doctors. They received nearly $280,000, wired to investment accounts in the doctors’ names.Then they laundered the money, according to court records, setting up fake businesses to do so. They also deposited cash into casino accounts and withdrew it as gambling chips.When the suspicious gynecologist started receiving private insurance payments with men’s names, he called the HHS inspector general’s hotline. Special agents visited the address listed as the practice location in the government’s medical provider database. "When we checked the office out, it was an empty store room in Columbus," said special agent in charge Verne Waldow, who supervises Leahy. "The doctor’s name was stenciled on the door in the strip mall. There were eviction notices stuffed into the mailbox and under the door." By the time investigators shut off the money faucet, Chylan and Ogansyan had billed Medicare for more than $48 million. Nearly $13 million of that was paid out, according to the court documents.

Court records illustrate how lucrative the group’s scam was: Investigators seized three kilograms of gold pellets valued at $130,086 from a California home, along with jewelry and a watch valued at $14,500. As part of their sentencing, Chylan and Ogansyan were ordered to pay more than $10 million in restitution. Waldow said after these two men and 71 other people were rounded up in 2010, "the problem for the most part stopped with the false fronts." ...
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It is likely that more than 10% of the cost of medical benefits for the workplace injuries that occur this year will be for services provided more than two decades into the future. That percentage has been growing and might continue to grow. A new study by NCCI looks at workers compensation medical services provided beyond 20 years after the injury, with a view toward anticipating: which medical service categories will account for the largest shares of costs and future treatment and utilization that will drive those costs.

NCCI first looks at the demographics of claimants who are still being treated for job-related injuries that were suffered more than two decades ago. The focus then shifts from patients to their medical care, looking at medical costs by service and diagnosis categories. Some key findings concerning services provided from 20 to 30 years following the date of injury are as follows:
  • Patients are predominantly male, more so than can be explained by historical gender differences in the workforce
  • Deteriorating medical conditions of the more elderly claimants is not a main cost driver; indeed, claimants younger than age 60 cost more per year, per claimant, to treat than those older than age 60
  • Relative to services within the first 20 years after injury, care provided later has a significantly greater portion of cost going for prescription medications, supplies, home health services, and the maintenance of implants, orthotics, and prosthetics.
Because drugs account for a large proportion of late-term-care costs, prescription data can suggest the nature of late-term care. The study compares the share of WC medication costs for several specific drugs. It compares late-term-care experience with all WC medication costs in 2009 and includes the top 10 WC drugs, either overall or within late-term care:
  • The top drug, OxyContin, accounts for 6% of WC medication costs in 2009 and that share rises another 5 percentage points to 11% for late-term care
  • The shares for opioid chronic pain medications, such as Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet) and Fentanyl (Duragesic), are generally higher within late-term care than within all medication costs for 2009
  • The shares within late-term care for muscle relaxants, such as Skelaxin and Cyclobenzaprine HCL are substantially lower than their overall shares for 2009
The specific medications given late-term provide a further indication for the shift in focus from treating the loss of function to relieving pain ...
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Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced the resolution of a case involving the removal of a safety device from a tractor that killed a vineyard worker when the defendants pled no contest to a misdemeanor violation of Labor Code section 6425, which prohibits removal of a manufacturer’s safety device. The Honorable Peter Ottenweller sentenced defendant James Poole, 61, of Windsor, to 30 days in jail and 80 hours of community service work for an organization dedicated to worker safety. Additionally, Vino Farms, Inc. was ordered to pay restitution and fines totaling two-hundred thousand dollars ($200,000).

District Attorney Ravitch stated: "All workers have the right to expect that they will come home at the end of the workday and that their employers will keep in place all manufacturers’ safety devices on equipment used for work. Companies and supervisors who disable safety devices will be held accountable for the sake of workers who depend on them."

The single misdemeanor charge resulted from an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which revealed that the victim was working alone at a local vineyard on a tractor that had its "kill switch" removed. (The "kill switch" causes the tractor’s engine to stop running and moving forward when the driver leaves the seat.) OSHA investigators concluded that on January 22, 2011, when Mr. Ambriz-Luquin tried to get out of the tractor’s narrow opening, his clothing was caught, and, without the kill switch operable, the tractor moved forward pinning him beneath it over night. The victim survived for several days before the injuries he sustained resulted in his death. OSHA discovered that Vino Farms, Inc.’s manager, James Poole, had ordered the safety device removed from the tractor seat.

As part of the plea agreement,Vino Farms, Inc. agreed to pay restitution to the family of the deceased victim in the amount of one-hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) and be placed on probation for two years. The company was ordered to pay an additional fine in the amount of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) to the State of California, as well as twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to Ag Safe, an organization dedicated to worker safety. An additional penalty in the amount of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) was suspended, pending successful completion of probation by Vino Farms, Inc. Vino Farms, Inc. agreed to change some of its procedures to comply with worker safety laws and to strengthen some of its policies to ensure that its workers will be able to get emergency help when working alone.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ann Gallagher White, and was investigated by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s Associate Engineer, Mark Harrington, by Senior Engineer, Steven Fenton and by OSHA Bureau of Investigation’s Mike Byrne ...
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Bloomberg New reports that Johnson and Johnson which is fighting more than 10,000 lawsuits over its recalled hip implants, is negotiating a potential settlement with patients that may eventually total more than $2 billion, according to five people familiar with the matter. The world’s biggest seller of health-care products, offered to pay more than $200,000 a case, according to the people, a deal which could exceed $2 billion if most plaintiffs accept the terms. Lawyers for hip recipients have so far rejected the offer as too low, the people said.

In 2010, J and J recalled 93,000 all-metal hips worldwide, including 37,000 in the U.S., saying more than 12 percent failed within five years. Patients who sued contend they suffer pain and are immobilized by joint dislocations, infections and bone fractures. They alleged metal debris from the hips causes tissue death around the joints. The settlement talks probably won’t end until after the first trials of the lawsuits begin, starting next week, with more set for next month and May, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the talks.

J and J faced 10,100 suits over the hips through September. Most pretrial collection of evidence has been consolidated in federal court in Toledo, Ohio, where 7,240 cases are pending, and California state court in San Francisco, where more than 2,000 cases are filed. Other cases have been filed in state courts around the U.S. The three cases going to trial in the next few months may offer lawyers guidance on potential liability and damages. The first proceeding starts Jan. 23 in state court in Los Angeles; the second begins next month in state court in Chicago; and a third is slated for May in federal court in Toledo, Ohio.

The Los Angeles court trial involves a lawsuit by Loren Kransky of Montana, a retired corrections officer who got an ASR hip implanted on Dec. 5, 2007. He had the hip replaced in February 2012. Claims by Kransky, 65, include failure to warn, negligent recall and manufacturing defect. "Kransky asserts that his device released metal ions into his body and that as a result he developed elevated chromium and cobalt levels," J and J said in a Nov. 21 court filing. The instructions with the implant "specifically warned that metal ions may be released from the hip implant into the body and that additional surgery may be required."

A retiree and a military veteran, Kransky’s health conditions included "diabetes, neuropathy, arteriosclerosis and heart problems, some of which were determined to be associated with his exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam in the 1970s," according to the filing.

Kransky’s case was chosen from those pending in the California Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding before Judge Richard Kramer in San Francisco.

"Any comment relating to settlement that does not come from leadership, the court, or from the company itself, is speculative and uninformed," said Skikos, of Skikos Crawford Skikos and Joseph in San Francisco and Cleveland ...
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Two Southern California garment businesses have been ordered to stop any work with dangerous equipment until the employers can ensure the equipment has the appropriate safeguards, the state Labor Enforcement Task Force says.

The task force is a multi-agency group formed to combat the underground economy.

The Central Valley Business Times reports that Vinh Loi Inc., a garment contractor with 26 workers employed at two locations in El Monte, had an industrial fabric cutter with improper safeguards to the cutting blade as well as the belt and pulley, the state says.

Kinary Inc., an El Monte denim washing business that employs 22 workers to dye and stone-wash jeans and other garments, had nine of its eleven industrial washers removed from service by Cal/OSHA until the proper safeguards in the belt and pulley workings on the washers are reinstalled, says the task force. Two of the same washers were not equipped with interlocks to prevent movement of the washer drums while the door is open, it says.

A worker was crushed to death in July 2011 after falling into an open, operating washing machine with missing interlocks at another denim washing shop in Los Angeles.

"Employers are required to ensure that their equipment is safe for workers to operate," says Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker, who oversees the task force. "When industrial machinery does not have the proper safeguards, workers can be killed or suffer serious injuries including amputation."

Vinh Loi, Inc. is also under investigation by the Labor Commissioner’s Office and the Employment Development Department for labor law issues including cash pay and overtime as well as possible payroll tax violations. The state agencies have served notice of a pending audit to further investigate the business.

The task force includes investigators with the Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and Cal/OSHA, as well as the Employment Development Department, Contractors State License Board, the Board of Equalization, Alcohol and Beverage Control and the Bureau of Automotive Repair ...
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The 2008 bankruptcy and default by fallen department store giant Mervyn’s LLC on its self-insured workers’ compensation insurance obligations represents the largest-ever for a state fund that will assume responsibility for the claims. The California Self Insurers Security Fund, believed at the time that Hayward-based Mervyn’s defaulted on almost $20 million in unpaid workers’ compensation claims, though the final total could be significantly lower because many claims are inactive.The Security Fund, a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation created by the state in 1984, is designed to ensure that workers’ comp claims are paid for workers in self-insured plans in the event of a default by their employer. In its 24 years, officials say, it has assumed liability for $160 million in claims involving 64 defaults, ultimately leaving it responsible for $90 million in net costs after accounting for about $70 million in surety bonds or deposits posted by the defaulting organizations. Prior to Mervyn's, the last big default was National RV in late 2007, leaving $3.5 million in claims and $5 million in security deposits,

Joh Navroth II was an applicant with a pre-bankruptcy industrial injury. He is attempting to recover directly from the bankruptcy court in Delaware.The bankruptcy court issued an order deferring his claim to the WCAB.

Navroth seeks damages for alleged injuries from a work related accident (dropping a folding table on his foot). The Initial Claim includes allegations of and requests for compensation for physical and emotional suffering and demands for payment of vacation, sick and personal holiday time. The alleged incident occurred in California prior to Mervyn's bankruptcy. Importantly, Claimant filed a statutory workers' compensation proceeding (the "State Proceeding") prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy case. The Amended Claims contain allegations of breaches of fiduciary duties, discrimination, employment discrimination, interference with contractual relations and interference with prospective business advantage. The Amended Claims increase the total sum Claimant seeks to in excess of $21 million. Claimant also alleges that the Amended Claims are secured.

The Amendments are untimely and therefore void, as they were filed after the General Bar Date of January 9, 2009. Claimant's only timely filed claim is Claim No. 3283 in the amount of $671,759.86. The Amendments are clearly new claims filed after the Bar Date and are therefore void. The Court carefully reviewed the Amended Claims against the Initial Claim and it is beyond any doubt that the Amended Claims are not related to the Initial Claim.

The Initial Claim is the only remaining claim. The Court fully agrees with Debtors that the Court should abstain from hearing the Initial Claim. 28 U.S.C. § 1334(c)(I) directs the Court to consider exercising its discretion to abstain from hearing a matter arising under the Bankruptcy Code or arising in or related to a bankruptcy case, in "the interest of justice, or in the interest of comity with State courts or respect for State law."

Abstention will limit the necessary tribunals to one, the California Workers' Compensation Board ("CWCB") in the State Proceeding. Were the Court to hear the Initial Claim, it could determine the validity but not the amount. The District Court would have to determine the amount. In re Amtrol, 384 B.R.686, 690 (Bankr. D. Del. 2008). The estate would therefore have to litigate in two courts, an obvious burden and waste of judicial resources.The Initial Claim, which is the sole remaining claim, raises only California workers' compensation law. Abstention is therefore wholly proper. Fruit of the Loom, 407 B.R. at 600, 602; In re Holiday RV Stores, Inc., 362 B.R. 126, 130-31 (D. Del. 2007).

For the foregoing reasons, the Court entered an Order dismissing the Amended Claims and abstaining from hearing the Initial Claim and thereby deferring to the State Proceeding ...
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A former Fresno County District Attorney's investigator was ordered to pay restitution after he pleaded no contest to a count of felony grand theft.

As part of his plea deal, John Harding Swenning, 46, of Kingsburg, was ordered Wednesday to pay $23,720 in restitution for investigation costs after he improperly received worker's compensation benefits following a work-related injury. In 2009, Swenning made false statements to an investigator to get surgery from his worker's compensation benefits.

His lawyer, Roger Nuttall, said Swenning "exaggerated symptoms" so he could get surgery and return to work.

Swenning is eligible to have the felony count reduced to a misdemeanor if he makes full restitution, Fresno County Superior Court documents said ...
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The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California issued an order denying a petition seeking court approval for the transfer to factoring company Fortress Funding LLC of an applicant’s rights to payments under a workers’ compensation settlement according to the report on the Corporate Counsel website. In the matter styled In Re Rudy Andrade, No. BS139876, Superior Court Judge Amy D. Hogue held that the issuer of the annuity that funded the settlement payments was an interested party with standing to appear and oppose the petition, and that, based on the arguments in the annuity issuer’s opposition, the petition was denied.

It is not uncommon in large workers' compensation or personal injury cases to resolve the claim by way of a structured settlement. The settlement is typically funded by an annuity purchased from another insurance company for a lump sum of money. The annuity pays a regular benefit to the claimant over his or her lifetime, and may even offer a residual payment to the heirs of the claimant. There are advantages to a structured settlement for both parties. The lump sum paid by the carrier is less than the total aggregate of future payments, thus there is cost savings. The carrier no longer has to keep an open file as the future payments are paid directly by the annuity company. The applicant receives an aggregate dollar settlement higher than what the workers' compensation benefit would have been. And, the annuity payments are tax free.

However, after a structured settlement, some applicants have second thoughts, and want to get a lump sum of cash for their structured settlement. Indeed, there are financial companies advertising on television offering cash for assignment of a structured settlement (for a deep discount of course). It would appear that the petition of Rudy Andrade is an example of such cases. Fortress Funding LLC was seeking to buy out his annuity funded structured settlement for a discount of 13.48%. An agreement such as this requires court approval pursuant to the California Structured Settlement Act. In this case the annuity company opposed the petition, and the Superior Court denied the petition to transfer the annuity to Fortress Funding LLC..

n its opposition, the annuity issuer argued, among other things, that:
  • The California structured settlement transfer act, Cal. Ins. Code § 10134 et seq., under which the petition was brought, did not apply to transfers of workers’ compensation payments.
  • The proposed transfer contravened the California Labor Code § 4900 prohibiting assignment of workers’ compensation payments.
  • The proposed transfer would be contrary to California common law, as the compromise and release agreement signed by the payee expressly prohibited assignment of the payments.
  • The proposed transfer would be contrary to a prior order of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board of the State of California, which approved the underlying workers’ compensation compromise and release agreement that expressly prohibited assignment of the payments.
  • The factoring transaction involved a transfer with an effective annual discount rate of 13.48%, and did not appear to be in the payee’s best interest.
  • The payee had no rights to the annuity that funded the workers’ compensation payments, and could not lawfully assign the annuity payments.
...
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All artificial hip implants carry risks including wear of the component material. Metal-on-metal (MoM) hip implants have unique risks in addition to the general risks of all hip implants.

In MoM hip implants, the metal ball and the metal cup slide against each other during walking or running. Metal can also be released from other parts of the implant where two implant components connect. Metal release will cause some tiny metal particles to wear off of the device into the space around the implant. Wear and corrosion at the connection between the metal ball and taper of the stem may also occur. Some of the metal ions (e.g. cobalt and chromium) from the metal implant or from the metal particles will enter the bloodstream.

Orthopaedic surgeons take several precautions before and during hip replacement surgery to try to optimize the way in which the ball and socket rub against each other so that fewer wear particles are produced. However, there is no way to fully avoid the production of some metal particles.

Over time, the metal particles around some implants can cause damage to bone and/or tissue surrounding the implant and joint. This is sometimes referred to as an "adverse local tissue reaction (ALTR)" or an "adverse reaction to metal debris (ARMD)." Soft tissue damage may lead to pain, implant loosening, device failure, and the need for revision surgery (the old device is removed and replaced with another one). Patients with a progressing ALTR may be considered for earlier revision to prevent extensive damage to bone, muscle and nerves.Metal-on-metal hip implants can cause soft-tissue damage and pain, which could lead to further surgery to replace the implant, the U.S. health regulator said, following several recalls of the artificial hip parts.

International regulatory agencies have issued alerts and safety communications related to MoM hip implants.
  • In April 2010, the United Kingdom's (U.K.) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a medical device alert that included specific follow-up recommendations for patients with MoM hip replacements. The recommendations included blood tests and imaging for patients with painful MoM hip implants. In February 2012, MHRA published a medical device alert and updated it in June 2012 with advice on the management and monitoring of patients with MoM hip systems.
  • In May 2012 Health Canada issued a public health communication to orthopaedic surgeons and patients regarding MoM hip implants.
  • The Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia published their safety information for healthcare professionals on MoM hips in September 2012.
Johnson and Johnson, the biggest manufacturer of all-metal devices, recalled its ASR hip implant in 2010 following safety problems. Smith and Nephew withdrew a component of one of its all-metal artificial hip systems last June, following higher level of patient problems with the device. Stryker Corp begun recalling some components of its implant in July due to risks associated with corrosion. Other hip implant makers include Zimmer Holdings Inc and Wright Medical Group.

At the current time, there is not enough evidence to support the routine need for checking metal ion levels in the blood or soft tissue imaging if patients with MoM hip implants have none of the signs or symptoms described above and the orthopaedic surgeon feels the hip is functioning properly. The FDA is recommending that asymptomatic patients with MoM hip implants continue to follow-up with their orthopaedic surgeon every 1 to 2 years to monitor for early signs of change in hip status ...
/ 2013 News, Daily News
Three of nine defendants were arrested in a continuing investigation into a fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits scheme based out of Sutter County, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Balkar Singh, 50; Harvinder Kaur, 37; and Harjinder Kaur Thandi, 34, all of Yuba City, will be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dale A. Drozd.

In a 36-count indictment a federal grand jury charged nine defendants with participating in a scheme to defraud the State of California of unemployment and disability benefits. The remaining defendants: Jit Kaur, 62; Daljit Kaur Sangha, 41; Sukhwinder Kaur, 54; Darshan Rani, 44, all of Yuba City; Avtar Kaur Bains, 73, of Roseville; and Mo Pegany, 56, of Ceres, will appear in court at a later date.

This is the third indictment in an ongoing investigation. Six defendants were indicted in May 2012, and six others were indicted in September 2012.

According to the first indictment, Mohammad Nawaz Khan, 56; Mohammad Adnan Khan, 31; Iqila Begum Khan, 31, all of Live Oak, and Mohammad Shahbaz Khan 56, of Yuba City, controlled a series of companies that were reported to the Employment Development Department as farm labor contractors. The Khans sold fake paystubs to other people in the community and used the companies they controlled to report false wages for the individuals who purchased those paystubs. The Khans at times instructed the purchasers how the fake paystubs could be used to fraudulently claim unemployment and disability benefits. Over the course of the conspiracy, the defendants reported wages for over 400 separate individuals that resulted in more than 2,000 fraudulent claims for unemployment and disability benefits. The loss in this case is more than $5 million.

According to the new indictment, Jit Kaur, Bains, Sangha, Pegany, Singh, Harvinder Kaur, Thandi, Sukhwinder Kaur, and Rani purchased pay stubs that falsely showed they had been paid wages by companies controlled by the Khans. The defendants would then use that pay stub to file for unemployment benefits, disability benefits, or both. According to the indictment, the defendants purchased pay stubs for approximately $250 for every $1,000 in wages. They would use those fraudulent obtained wages to file for unemployment insurance, disability insurance, or both.

This case is the product of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and the Employment Development Department, Investigations Division. Assistant United States Attorney Jared Dolan is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

"Fraud against the employer-funded Unemployment Insurance program or the employee-funded Disability Insurance program costs all of us and will not be tolerated," said Pam Harris, Director of the California Employment Development Department (EDD). "EDD’s investigators are committed to detecting and deterring fraud to protect the integrity of these vital programs, which are meant to benefit hardworking Californians and businesses." ...
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