
Remember the "bad old days?” Having been in the industry for more than 30 years, I can understand why this question isn't entirely clear. There have been so many periods of time in California's workers' compensation history that were particularly frightening for employers.
The problematic period of time I reference is shortly after the adoption of the AMA Guides effective January 1, 2005. (Can it really have already been one-and-a-half decades?).
Our new permanent disability system was supposed to "promote consistency, uniformity, and objectivity." Much to our dismay, the applicants' bar and many physicians found their way around this objective via the infamous Guzman ruling from the 6th DCA. But even before that, they got a little "creative" and determined that many (most?) applicants, in addition to their traditional injuries, suffered from sleep dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, and/or psychiatric disorder.