In a pivotal legal development, the California Court of Appeal for the Second District issued a writ of mandate on August 1, 2023, putting a stop to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board’s (WCAB) traditional practice of granting Petitions for Reconsideration for Further Study. This information was shared by Laughlin, Falbo, Levy & Moresi LLP on JD Supra.
This procedure, which has been a long-standing part of WCAB’s approach, effectively allowed for a delay in the final decision-making, thus providing additional time for further study and consideration of complex cases. With this ruling, however, the appeals board will seemingly face the pressure of delivering final decisions at a more consistent speed.
That being said, the legal profession should temper their expectations for an immediate uptick in the pace of decisions emanating from WCAB. Making adjustments to long embedded procedural norms is a complex process, and it is likely that we will witness a period of adaptational slowdown before any significant acceleration takes place.
As with any legal change, the full ramifications of this ruling will only reveal themselves over time. Legal firms across California will be watching closely to understand the impacts on case processing times, client expectations, and appeals strategy.
As always, we’ll be here to provide you with the most salient updates to keep you ahead in this evolving legal landscape.