Attorney Mary Hollie Rutkowski's Legal Cases

Workers compensation

Motheral V. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (2011) 130 Cal. Rptr. 3d 677, 199 Cal.App.4th 148

Aug 25, 2011

OUTCOME: Won at The Court of Appeal; Published Decision - Case settled for $407,500.

Motheral was entitled to have the market value of his living quarters, utilities, and car allowance included in the calculation of his average weekly earnings and resulting disability payment. We shall ... conclude that section 4454 mandates the inclusion of those sums. Accordingly, we shall annul the Board's decision denying reconsideration and remand for further proceedings to recalculate Motheral's average weekly earnings and resulting disability payment.

Workers compensation

Phone Senenoi v. Nor Cal Metal Fabricators, 2011 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 49

Jan 01, 2011

OUTCOME: Still litigating

Medical-Legal Procedure--Agreed Medical Evaluators--Failure to Complete Timely Evaluations--WCAB denied defendant's petition for removal and upheld WCJ's order denying applicant's petition to disqualif ... y AME for failure to issue supplemental report within 60 days pursuant to 8 Cal. Code Reg. § 38(h), when WCAB found that applicant failed to show that she would suffer substantial prejudice or irreparable harm absent removal, that only express consequence of an AME's failure to issue a supplemental report within 60 days is that AME might not be reappointed as a QME by AD, and that remedy for a delinquent report under 8 Cal. Code Reg. § 38(a) is to request a QME replacement pursuant to 8 Cal. Code Reg. § 31.5 but not to terminate AME agreement.

Workers compensation

King-Patriquin v. Sutter Memorial Hospital, 2009 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 309

Jul 14, 2009

OUTCOME: Reported in California Workers' Compensation Reporter

WCAB denied defendant's request for removal from WCJ's order directing appointment of second qualified medical evaluator (QME) panel in specialty of internal medicine-gastroenterology to evaluate appli ... cant/nurse who, while unrepresented, was evaluated by panel QME pursuant to Labor Code § 4062.1, and then after becoming represented required a panel QME in a different specialty, when WCAB found that (1) applicant was procedurally entitled to remain in "unrepresented track" under Labor Code § 4062.1 since she was unrepresented at time of initial panel QME evaluation and was not required to proceed pursuant to Labor Code § 4062.2 despite becoming represented prior to issuance of order directing second QME panel

Workers compensation

Aljbion Toshi, Et Al. V.Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, (2007) 72 Cal.Comp.Cases 420

Apr 03, 2007

OUTCOME: Not Published

Decedent’s death not compensable because decedent’s industrial back pain from his injury did not result in an overwhelming desire to end his life, but his other personal problems did. Labor Code sectio ... n 3600, subdivision (a)(6) prohibits recovery of workers' compensation benefits if the employee ''willfully and deliberately'' caused his own death. Because the decedent's mental state determines eligibility, it is subjected to intense legal and medical scrutiny. he suicidal act can be one of conscious volition; the person can indeed understand the nature and consequences of what he is doing. '' 'Where the suicide of an employee is directly caused by his injuries and their consequences, his death is not intentionally self-inflicted or willful so as to bar compensation, where he kills himself under compulsion of an irresistible or uncontrollable impulse, or while in a delirium or frenzy or where the injuries suffered by the deceased result in his becoming devoid of normal judgment and dominated by a disturbance of mind.'

Workers compensation

Rick's Body Shop v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (Gurule) (2000) 66 Cal. Comp. Cas 184;

Dec 21, 2000

OUTCOME: $7134.00 in LC 5801 fees and $5900.00 costs and fees awarded by WCAB post writ denied decsion

Sanctions--Bad Faith Actions/Tactics--When WCAB found that defendants did not pay wages applicant lost while attending his deposition, as required by Labor Code § 5710(b)(2), and that this failure was ... bad faith action and tactics, WCAB awarded sanctions against defendants and their attorney under Labor Code § 5813 and 8 Cal.Code Reg. § 10561.

Mary Hollie Rutkowski's Legal Cases (5)

Motheral V. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (2011) 130 Cal. Rptr. 3d 677, 199 Cal.App.4th 148

Phone Senenoi v. Nor Cal Metal Fabricators, 2011 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 49

King-Patriquin v. Sutter Memorial Hospital, 2009 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 309

Aljbion Toshi, Et Al. V.Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, (2007) 72 Cal.Comp.Cases 420

Rick's Body Shop v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (Gurule) (2000) 66 Cal. Comp. Cas 184;