Workers Compensation Terms and Definitions

Subpoena A document that requires a witness to appear at a hearing. There must be an Application for Adjudication on file for a subpoena to be valid. Claims Administrator This is the term for insurance companies and others who handle your workers' compensation claim. Agreed Medical Examiner (AME) A physician selected by your attorney and the claims administrator who conducts a medical evaluation and submits a comprehensive report to the parties. Permanent Disability (PD) Any residual disability that impairs your ability to compete in the open labor market after you become permanent and stationary. Apportionment A way of figuring out how much of your permanent disability is due to your industrial injury and how much is due to other disabilities. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) The judicial unit that formally resolves workers' compensation disputes. Settlement A workers' compensation cases may be settled in one of two ways, by a Compromise and Release (C&R) or by a Stipulation with Request for Award (Stip). A C&R usually settles all outstanding issues in a claim for a single lump sum payment. A Stipulation may leave certain issues open, such as future medical treatment and/or vocational rehabilition. State Disability Insurance (SDI): A branch of the Employment Development Department that pays temporary disability benefits for non-industrial injuries or illnesses. Commutation An order by a Workers' Compensation Administrative Law Judge for a lump sum payment of part or all of your permanent disability award. Payment can be made to either the injured worker or the injured worker's attorney. Uninsured Employers Fund (UEF) If your employer is illegally uninsured, this fund may provide benefits to you.

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	Did You Know?
	Brake and clutch repair work in the general industry standard is the activity engaged in by the largest group of asbestos exposed workers Brake and clutch repair work in the general industry standard is the activity engaged in by the largest group of asbestos exposed workers, although most of them are exposed sporadically and at low levels. Next largest are custodial workers who do not perform their duties as part of construction activities, but clean surfaces, sweep, buff, vacuum floors, and wash walls and windows in manufacturing plants and a wide variety of public and commercial buildings.