SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The California Supreme Court has sided with employers in a fight over the right of workers to sue over the treatment of injuries that occur on the job.
The court ruled unanimously on Thursday that workers receiving medical care through their employers’ workers’ compensation insurance generally cannot sue a doctor who decides whether treatment is needed.
The ruling came in the case of an injured worker, Kirk King, who says he suffered seizures after a doctor discontinued his anxiety medication. The doctor was responsible for evaluating whether treatment prescribed for King was really needed.
The justices said King had to pursue his claims against the doctor through a separate workers’ compensation system set up by the legislature, not the courts.
An email to an attorney for King was not immediately returned.
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