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 wccm@rand.org

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 asklarsi@yahoo.com.