Long-Awaited Ruling in King v. CompPartners

The long-awaited decision by the California Supreme Court in King v. CompPartners (2018) S232197 is finally out. In it, the court unanimously held, through a majority and two concurring opinions, that a claim for malpractice against a utilization review (UR) physician for injuries arising from a review decision for the treatment of a compensable injury could not be maintained under the workers’ compensation system and is barred by exclusive remedy. The case will be extensively analyzed by all participants in the workers’ compensation system. This will include parsing of various comments in the two concurring opinions regarding whether the UR process is performing up to expectations. As noted by Associate Justice Goodwin Liu in his concurring opinion, “The legislature may wish to examine whether the existing safeguards provide sufficient incentives for competent and careful utilization review.” The other concurring opinion, by Associate Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, stated, “Even now, those safeguards and remedies may not be set at optimal levels, and the legislature may find it makes sense to change them.” It is difficult to find a point in time where a thorough analysis of the system is contemporaneous with the judicial review of it. Such is the case here. The utilization review events that caused this case to be brought occurred in 2013. Given that this case was dealing with a review of prescription drugs, it is important to note that “safeguards and remedies” now include the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule Formulary. As stated in the formulary, “ For injuries occurring prior to Jan. 1, 2018, the MTUS Drug Formulary should be phased in to ensure that injured workers who are receiving drug treatment are not harmed by an abrupt change to the course of treatment. The physician is responsible for requesting a medically appropriate and safe course of treatment for the injured worker in accordance with the MTUS, which may include use of a non-exempt drug or unlisted drug, where that is necessary for the injured worker’s condition or necessary for safe weaning, tapering or transition to a different drug.” [8 CCR 9792.27.3(b)(1)] See also: Where the Oklahoma Court Went Wrong   This particular regulation also states, “Previously approved drug treatment shall not be terminated or denied except as may be allowed by the MTUS and in accordance with applicable utilization review and independent medical review regulations.” [8 CCR 9792.27.3(b)(4)] In addition, Senate Bill 1160 (Mendoza) requires UR processes to be accredited by July 1, 2018. The accrediting agency is URAC, although the Division of Workers’ Compensation has the authority to add requirements for certification. The purpose of accreditation is to have an independent, nonprofit entity “…certify that the utilization review process meets specified criteria, including, but not limited to, timeliness in issuing a utilization review decision, the scope of medical material used in issuing a utilization review decision, peer-to-peer consultation, internal appeal procedure and requiring a policy preventing financial incentives to doctors and other providers based on the utilization review decision.” [Labor Code Sec. 4610(g)(4)] Much has happened to the system that was under review by the court in King. To improve on this progress, we need to understand what has been done already to provide more safeguards and remedies for injured workers while being faithful to the “grand bargain” that is workers’ compensation. This cannot be done by turning back the clock.