Today's guest post is shared from David DePaolo from daviddepaolo.blogspot.com
The practice of workers' compensation law is relatively relaxed, at least in California, but I suspect the same in most of the rest of the country where it is an administrative system.
That's what attracted me to the practice in the first place nearly 30 years ago. Collegiality, informality - the emphasis was on substance over form, and the primary mission of the practice - delivering benefits to those entitled and discriminating against those not so entitled - took the forefront over everything else. But relaxed doesn't mean sloppy, and does requires a higher level of self-discipline. Unfortunately, too many people don't have the discipline to be let loose in an informal, relaxed legal system. Too many need more concrete barriers, more defined lines; perhaps because these folks lack the integrity or control to handle the responsibility that comes with such an insouciant practice. Or perhaps these folks are, themselves, just sloppy and inconsiderate of the rules. Rules - these are in place to make sure that everyone is playing on the same field, to keep anyone from having an unfair procedural advantage, and also to put checks and balances on the costs associated with litigation from the institutional perspective. The California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board collected almost $300,000 in sanctions last year − three times the amount collected in 2012. The WCAB had been warning... |
