(August 1, 2007) In a recent important ruling for the business community, a California State Court of Appeal has upheld the limited use of the pre-reform permanent disability rating schedule, which is consistent with the California Chamber of Commerce-supported workers’ compensation reforms.

In the case of Rachel Chang v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) and State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF), the issue before the 3rd District Court of Appeal was whether the Legislature intended a new permanent disability rating schedule to apply to injuries sustained before the schedule was adopted.

Read the decision.

The court agreed that the Legislature intended to ensure that only limited use of the pre-reform permanent disability rating schedule is applied.

In the opinion, the court explained that the language used in the 2004 reforms is very clear regarding which rating schedule should be applied. There is “no inconsistency” in the statute, the court said, and the law clearly “delineates which injuries occurring before January 1, 2005 are subject to the revised rating schedule and which are to be rated according to the prior rating schedule.”

Consistent Ruling

The Chang decision is consistent with a previous decision of the full WCAB in the case of Josh Pendergrass v. Duggan Plumbing and State Compensation Insurance Fund, which permits use of the pre-reform permanent disability-rating schedule in certain circumstances.

The CalChamber wrote a letter to the WCAB arguing that the intent of the legislation was that the pre-reform permanent disability-rating schedule be applied only in limited situations.

The CalChamber argued that if the pre-reform permanent disability-rating schedule was overused it would threaten California’s workforce and general economic recovery by prolonging the workers' compensation crisis to the last possible moment.

CalChamber-Supported Reforms

CalChamber-supported SB 899 (Poochigian; R-Fresno) of 2004 made fundamental changes in the way the workers’ compensation system determines the level of injury and the amount of disability assigned to an injury and created a new medical network to provide quality, cost-effective care to workers.

This package ensured that medical treatment follows nationally recognized guidelines and set clear parameters for what is acceptable treatment for injured workers in the system, while also reducing excessive litigation.

Staff Contact: Erika Frank

Read more about the CalChamber Legal Affairs Department representing employer concerns before the courts.