A summary of the developments and funding/cost-cutting rationale leading up to the Board’s implementation of new benefits policies; with analysis of the general approach under decision makers ‘look to deny’ by questioning work relatedness every step of the way. The main way this is achieved is by repeatedly raising the issue of pre-existing conditions. Backgrounder discusses how these policies reject the legal principles (including the thin skull doctrine) and instead try to ‘medicalize’ the decision-making process through not only challenging causation but use of “expected recovery times” – rather than individualized assessment – as a tool to cut off benefits. (Originally published in Justice For Injured Workers Jan. 2015 issue).
Injured Workers Online
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