Know Your Burden
On July 22nd, 2015, Liening Edge hosted the first of an ongoing webinar series, “Know Your Burden and How to Be Prepared.” It was hosted by our very own Managing Director, Scott Schoenkopf. Also present was Mona Nemat, Esq., a Partner at the Law Office of Brissman & Nemat.
Mr. Schoenkopf opened the informative session with a fact: “Lien claimants always have the burden of proof for all aspects of their lien.” He went on to say that proof is needed in order to verify that the treatment of an industrial injury was recommended by a treating physician, as well as that the treatment was reasonable and necessary, while being fairly priced.
A key take away point from Mr. Schoenkopf is that providers have the expectation of settlement at the highest dollar amount; however, in order to facilitate that or make those expectations realistic they need quality documentation; also, what they have in the files, they send to their representatives. In essence, as Mr. Schoenkopf noted, “Prepare on the front-end, in order to prevail on the back-end in litigation.”
The second featured speaker, Mona Nemat, also discussed crucial points to remember in the process of lien filing. One rudimentary but essential point that Ms. Nemat emphasized was that, with liens, one should make a written demand at least 30 days prior to filing – otherwise, there can be no recovery of filing fees (LC 4903.07).
Ms. Nemat also provided a highly anticipated update on the Angelotti v. Baker, in which the U.S. Ninth Circuit court upheld California’s fee requirement on workers’ compensation liens. The bill included a $150 filing fee for all liens filed on or after Jan. 1, 2013 and a $100 activation fee for pending liens filed before Jan 1. 2013.
One of the key takeaway points from Ms. Nemat was that more and more liens are being litigated now and if the documentation is not there for the rep, the rep’s hands are tied. She stated, “Gone are the days of wheeling and dealing your way to a settlement. Now, providers must have support for the positions they are taking.”
To view more from the webinar, you can view the slides from the session here.
If you would like to know more details on the points discussed, or want to know how to properly know your burden and how to be prepared for workers’ comp litigation, please contact us for more information.

Webinar presentation