The Division of Workers’ Compensation, through its Administrative Director, administers the Workers’ Compensation system, which compensates employees for injuries that occur in the course of employment. The system provides procedures to resolve disputes about whether an injury is compensable and uses a qualified medical evaluator (QME) to conduct a comprehensive medical-legal evaluation addressing all contested medical issues in a claim. The law requires parties to send all communications with a panel QME before an evaluation in writing and to serve them on the opposing party 20 days in advance. The law also requires any later communication with the QME to be in writing and served on the opposing party when sent.
Effective January 1, 2027, AB 1293 will require the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation to develop and make available a template QME report form that includes all required statutory and regulatory elements for a QME report. AB 1293 also requires the Administrative Director to develop and make available a medical evaluation request form for parties to use when communicating with a panel QME before an evaluation.
(AB 1293 adds Section 4062.4 to the Labor Code.)