“On August 23, 2018 the California Supreme Court issued a far-reaching decision in the case of King v. CompPartners, Inc. (S232197) which positively impacts the workers’ compensation system and represents a significant victory for the utilization review industry and the physicians with whom they work. The Riverside County Superior Court sustained a demurrer, without leave to amend, on behalf of defendants, a utilization review company and a utilization review physician, to a complaint filed by an injured worker (Kirk King) and his wife against defendants for medical malpractice and general common law negligence. The dismissal was appealed to the California Court of Appeal which, on January 5, 2016, issued a decision that affirmed the order sustaining the demurrer, but reversed the denial of leave to amend and remanded the case to the lower court for the filing of an amended complaint. The Court of Appeal decision was appealed to the California Supreme Court. The issue before the Supreme Court was whether a physician performing utilization review in a workers’ compensation case can be liable to the injured worker to whom they provided a decision regarding medical treatment. Defendants argued, among other things, that Plaintiffs’ claims were pre-empted by the exclusive remedy rule codified in the workers’ compensation statutes. The California Supreme Court agreed. Prior to the Supreme Court’s opinion, there was no hard and fast rule holding that the exclusive remedy rule barred tort claims from being advanced against utilization review physicians and the companies which retain them. The Supreme Court stated in its opinion that “[v]iewing the question against the backdrop of our precedents, we conclude the answer is yes.”

In its August 23, 2018 opinion, the California Supreme Court held that workers’ compensation laws provide the exclusive remedy for a workers’ injuries and, thus, the worker’s tort claims against a physician who performs utilization review are preempted:

“It is by now well established that the WCA’s exclusivity provisions preempt not only those causes of action premised on a compensable workplace injury, but also those causes of action premised on injuries ‘collateral to or derivative of’ such an injury.” (Charles J. Vacanti, M.D., Inc. v. State Comp Ins. Fund (2001) 24 Cal.4th 800, 811, quoting Snyder v. Michael’s Stores, Inc. (1997) 16 Cal.4th 991, 997). “[A]s we read the statute the Legislature enacted, the workers’ compensation system provides the exclusive remedy for otherwise compensable injuries stemming from alleged mistakes in the utilization review process. Here the Kings’ tort claims concerning Dr. Sharma’s decertification of [Kirk] King’s prescription are collateral to and derivative of a compensable injury and defendants performed a statutorily recognized utilization review function on behalf of King’s employer. Because the acts alleged do not suggest that defendants stepped outside of the utilization review role contemplated by statute, the Kings’ claims are preempted.” Because ‘[t]he Kings seek to recover for injuries that arose during the treatment of [Kirk] King’s industrial injury and in the course of the workers’ compensation claims process . . . their claims fall within the scope of . . . the workers’ compensation system.” The Supreme Court further states that “[t]he Kings and their amici raise policy concerns about this conclusion. Utilization review has a significant impact on the medical care of injured workers. It follows, they argue, that utilization reviewers should be held accountable for their mistakes in the same way and to the same extent as treating physicians, who may be sued for their malpractice. The statute’s treatment of utilization reviewers is, however, consistent with the basic tradeoff that underlies the workers’ compensation systems as a whole: The employee is afforded swift and certain payments for medical treatment without having to prove fault, but, in exchange, gives up his right to sue in tort for those injuries that result from risks encompassed by the employment relationship.”

The California Supreme Court’s decision in King v. CompPartners, Inc. limits the liability of utilization review companies and review physicians, and marks a significant chapter in the applicability of the workers’ compensation laws. In California, it is now the law that the workers’ compensation exclusive remedy rule bars tort claims from being advanced against utilization review physicians and the companies which retain them.

Murchison & Cumming LLP’s counsel for Defendants on appeal were William D. Naeve, Esq. and Terry L. Kesinger, Esq.

Click here to read the full decision.

LOS ANGELES – Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that William D. Naeve has been named Senior Partner and that Mhare O. Mouradian and Bradley T. Wibicki have been named Partners.

Mr. Naeve practices in Murchison & Cumming’s Irvine office where he Co-Chair’s the Firm’s Management Protection, Directors & Officers, Employment Law and Class Action & Consumer Litigation practice groups. He focuses his practice in the areas of employment and first and third party bad faith, defense of business litigation, employment termination and discrimination, ERISA, wage & hour, health law, and life & disability bad faith claims and litigation. He is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell is admitted to practice before all California and Nevada state courts; the United States Supreme Court; the United States Court of Appeals,  Ninth Circuit; the United States District Court, for the Eastern, Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California; and the United States District Court, District of Nevada. He has served as Judge Pro Temp in the Orange County Superior Court.

 Mr. Mouradian focuses his practice in the areas of complex civil litigation, business litigation and corporate and real estate transactional matters. He is resident in Murchison & Cumming’s Los Angeles office, where he is a senior member of the Firm’s Vertical Transportation practice group and also handles business litigation and transactional matters from the Firm’s San Francisco office. Mr. Mouradian is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, has been named as a “Top Attorney” for civil litigation by Pasadena Magazine for four consecutive years and has made the list for Southern California Rising Stars® for five consecutive years. Mr. Mouradian represents businesses and individuals in federal and state courts, involving claims of business torts, breach of contract, fraud, partnerships disputes, unfair business practices, theft of trade secrets and negligence. He also has experience in product liability, toxic tort and environmental law, professional liability, premises liability and employment law. Apart from assisting clients in legal matters, Mr. Mouradian enjoys participating in Pro Bono work.

Mr. Wibicki practices in the Firm’s Las Vegas office, where he is a member of the Firm’s Health Law/Long Term Care Facilities for the Elderly practice group and its Ad Hoc Committee. He focuses his practice in the areas of insurance law, premises liability, product liability and general liability. Previously handling transactional work in Illinois, including real estate and contractual matters, he maintains strong ties to the state and to his alma mater, Chicago’s John Marshall Law School. During his graduate career, Mr. Wibicki served as a student-licensed attorney for the City of Chicago Department of Building and Land Usage.

About Murchison & Cumming, LLP
With a firm history dating to 1930, Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier, AV-rated civil litigation firm with five offices in California and Las Vegas, whose attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers and individuals, at trial and on appeal. The firm’s attorneys also handle employment matters and business transactions. The firm is a member of the USLAW Network. For additional information, please visit our website at www.murchisonlaw.com.

LOS ANGELES – Murchison & Cumming, LLP and the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Southern California Chapter will present an employment roundtable for in-house counsel on May 25 and 26, 2011 in Orange County and Los Angeles, respectively.

M&C Employment Partners William D. Naeve and Pamela J. Marantz will address “Stray Remarks and Bullying in the Workplace,” providing information on risk assessment and protection against these rising workplace claims. In-house counsel for the United States Postal Service and Goodwill Southern California will also provide commentary on first-hand experience with the issues discussed.

Please see the below Employment Roundtable invitation for program details.

About Murchison & Cumming, LLP
With a firm history dating to 1930, Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier civil litigation firm with five offices in California and Las Vegas, whose attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers and individuals, at trial and on appeal. The firm’s attorneys also handle employment matters and business transactions. The firm is a member of the USLAW Network. For additional information, please visit our website at www.murchisonlaw.com.

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