NOTE: The RAND Institute has, quite unexpectedly, changed all their links. We've done our best to track down the new links below. 20.2.01
As you may be aware, the RAND Institute for
Civil Justice has begun a major
study to evaluate how well the judicial
functions of the California Workers'
Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) fulfills its
charge, which is to
"accomplish substantial justice in all cases
expeditiously, inexpensively,
and without encumbrance of any character." By
way of background, the
Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ) is widely
regarded as the leading research
institution focusing on the nation's civil
justice system. Its mission is
to help make the legal process more efficient
and more equitable by
supplying public and private decision-makers
with the results of objective,
empirically-based, analytic research. Some of
the areas the ICJ has studied
over the years have included issues involving
delay and cost reduction in
the nation's courts, alternative dispute
resolution processes, class action
reforms, trends in jury verdicts, judicial case
management, and mass torts.
The Institute builds on over 50 years of RAND
Corporation research that has
been characterized by an interdisciplinary,
empirical approach to public
policy issues and rigorous standards of
quality, objectivity, and
independence. Additional information about the
ICJ and its research into
civil justice issues can be found at our
website located at
www.rand.org/icj/.
Funded by the California Commission on Health
and Safety and Workers'
Compensation, the study is being carried out
with the cooperation of the
WCAB and the Department of Industrial
Relation's Division of Workers'
Compensation; however, the Institute for Civil
Justice has undertaken this
project with the express understanding that the
sponsors will have no
control or influence whatsoever over the
research methodology or any
conclusions ultimately reached.
The project staff will collect and analyze data
on many aspects of the
adjudication process including judicial duties,
conference procedures, case
calendaring, trial practices, staffing levels,
equipment and technology
needs, office paper flow, and general
administrative organization. An
extremely important component of the research
is the solicitation of
information from the primary stakeholders in
the workers' compensation
judicial process-injured workers, judges,
attorneys, insurers, employers,
health care and vocational rehabilitation
service providers--across the
state. It is our belief that the best sources
for understanding how cases
are adjudicated by the WCAB and for developing
recommendations for reform
can only come from those who have experienced
the system on a first-hand
basis.
It is for this reason that I am writing to you
today. The Institute for
Civil Justice would like to encourage the
members of your organization to
participate in this study by providing input
into their experiences with the
adjudicatory functions of the WCAB and to
contribute their suggestions for
making the process more equitable and
efficient. As discussed above, we are
primarily charged with studying the way in
which the judges of the WCAB
administer and decide disputes between workers
and insurers (or employers)
over workers' compensation benefits. We want
to know more about issues such
as, for example, the length of time between
filing an application and the
date of trial, difficulties in getting proposed
settlements approved by a
workers' compensation judge, problems with
contacting WCAB office staff or
an Information & Assistance officer regarding
particular cases, conditions
in WCAB waiting rooms and other facilities,
relationships with judges or
staff members of local Boards, and any other
aspect of the process of
getting the dispute decided or otherwise
resolved after the case has been
filed. It should be understood that the
Institute for Civil Justice is only
exploring how the local Boards interact with
the parties in the cases before
them. It is therefore beyond the scope of
this study to examine the
adequacy of the underlying benefit levels,
workplace safety issues,
relationships between the worker and his or her
employer, insurance company
claims handling practices, treatment or
services received by heath care or
vocational rehabilitation providers, and the
like. While such matters are
of vital importance to those who are seeking
relief under the workers'
compensation system, the vast scope of the
current undertaking requires the
ICJ's researchers to keep their focus squarely
upon the operation of the
local Boards.
Input on the judicial functions of the WCAB can be provided in a number of ways. As we are attempting to collect and document such submissions in an organized manner, it is greatly preferred that the members of your organization provide their comments and suggestions in writing:
1) BY LETTER:
Please address all correspondence to...
Project Manager
Workers' Compensation Court Management Study
Institute for Civil Justice
RAND Corporation, Mail Stop M-29
1700 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3297
2) BY FACSIMILE:
FAX: 310-393-4818
Please address the fax to...
Attention: Project Manager, Workers' Compensation
Court Management Study
RAND Institute for Civil Justice, Mail Stop M-29
3) BY E-MAIL:
www.rand.org/icj/projects/wccm/mail.html or [email protected]
4) BY ANONYMOUS WEBSITE SUBMISSION:
www.rand.org/icj/projects/wccm/comments.html
Due to the expected high level of interest in
this study, we respectfully
request that the members of your organization
submit their comments in
writing via one of the methods set forth above
rather than by direct
telephone contact or through other e-mail
addresses. Thanks in advance...
I strongly urge your members to send their
submissions as soon as possible.
The project is in its early stages and much of
what we learn over the next
month or so will shape the study's focus,
procedures, and conclusions. We
eventually will be holding a number of
roundtable meetings in both northern
and southern California later this spring (I
will keep you posted on dates
and locations) to enable stakeholders to
comment on our preliminary findings
but it is very important that the input of the
people for whom the system is
designed to serve make their voices heard
sooner rather than later.
Not surprisingly, some stakeholders have
already told us of their concerns
that making comments, criticisms, and
suggestions might adversely impact
on-going or future matters before the WCAB. I
would like to give you my
personal assurance that the identity of any
person who provides written
submissions to RAND will be kept confidential
and will not be disclosed to
anyone outside of RAND. This includes, but is
certainly not limited to,
potential disclosures to employers, insurers,
attorneys, medical care
providers, the Workers' Compensation Appeals
Board or its judges, the
Department of Industrial Relations or its
Division of Workers' Compensation,
the Commission on Health, Safety, and Workers'
Compensation, or any other
governmental or private entity or person. We
take the safeguarding of
sensitive information very, very seriously here
at RAND. If desired,
individuals who wish to submit comments
anonymously can do so through the
use of the special form on our web page (see
above) or simply by not
including a return address on written
correspondence.
I suggest that you periodically check with the
Workers' Compensation Court
Management Study web page at
www.rand.org/icj/projects/wccm/ for
updates on project design and purpose, the
release of preliminary findings,
the roundtable meetings, and ultimately the
final report. Parts of the web
page are still under construction but we hope
it will become a useful tool
for you and your associates to keep track of
the status of the research.
I also would like to ask that you share this
information not only with the
members of your organization but with other
California-based workers'
compensation support and resource groups as
well.
I hope that when the study is finally
published, you will agree that it will
have shed some light on how this critical
component of the workers'
compensation system is operating and how the
courts of the WCAB can be made
more responsive to its core mission. The help
provided by your organization
will be invaluable in this regard.
Sincerely,
Nicholas M. Pace
Institute for Civil Justice
The LA RSI Support Group can be contacted at [email protected]. |