Legal Support

California’s complicated and ever-changing workers’ compensation system makes access to legal expertise an essential component to your workers’ compensation program. Our team of legal professionals render service and support with combined expertise in our specialized programs and the law. Our legal support division is headed by MEDEX chief legal counsel Donald Balzano, who regularly testifies before the California legislature and other government entities as an expert on MPNs and HCOs. We are proud to offer bundled and unbundled legal services as well as specialized legal support to clients utilizing our other services.

Our legal services include:

• Lien defense
• Custom carve-out programs for employers with unionized workforces who want an efficient work-around of the California Workers’ Compensation system

Our legal support includes:

• Expert witness testimony in HCO and MPN litigation
• Expert consultation and specialized training for employers, TPAs, and insurance companies in the legal and regulatory aspects of HCOs and MPNs

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Lien Defense Services

• Highly experienced hearing reps and attorneys.
• Savings-minded settlement capabilities on compensable liens.
• Aggressive trial defense and access to top expert witnesses.
• Seamless internal bill review and retro UR capabilities for optimal legal arguments.
• Individualized reporting including return on investment and average savings percentage.
• Competitive hourly rates

MEDEX's Lien Defense program takes full advantage of MEDEX's complementary suite of services in offering thorough and aggressive workers’ compensation lien resolution services. Our experienced lien defense team promptly reviews each file and carefully evaluates the best course of action for each lien in consultation with your claims team.

MEDEX is proud to offer the unique benefit of putting lien claims through MEDEX’s industry-leading medical bill review and retroactive utilization review when necessary. This ensures that we have the best information available to optimally defend our clients against any lien claim.

Our lien unit expertly resolves the majority of compensable liens via negotiation and settlement, keeping our clients’ priorities and preferences in mind. We are committed to common sense, efficiency, and cost effectiveness in resolving lien claims.

For liens not resolved through settlement, MEDEX's veteran hearing representatives zealously represent our clients at lien trial. Our certified hearing representatives and attorneys possess many years of experience at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Boards in California, and their familiarity with the processes and personnel at the local boards facilitate favorable outcomes for our clients. Our unparalleled access to MEDEX expert witnesses is also an excellent resource for optimal outcomes on challenging MPN issues that can impact lien trials.

MEDEX Lien Defense services are offered at competitive hourly rates. We also offer monthly lien reports that capture the metrics important to each individual client, including the return on investment in our services, percentage of savings we deliver, file closure time averages, and more. Our success in lien defense is represented by delivering seamless service of the highest quality, rendering expert defense against lien claims, and demonstrating our cost effectiveness in all metrics.

Expert Witness Testimony and Specialized Consultation and Training

On occasion, you may require expert witness testimony regarding HCOs and/or MPNs at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Information given by an expert witness can be essential evidence in prevailing in your workers’ compensation litigation, and we offer industry-leading experience to support our clients at trial.

As of 2015, MEDEX chief legal counsel Donald Balzano has appeared at more than 200 trials at 20 different California boards on behalf of MEDEX clients, and has been accepted by the board as an expert on each occasion. Don has worked intensively with HCOs since 1996 and MPNs since 2005. He has testified before the Assembly Insurance Committee and the Senate Industrial Relations Committee and other bodies at the request of DWC Administrative Directors, including Casey Young, Dick Gannon, Andrea Hoch, Carrie Nevans, and Destie Overpeck.  In addition, he has participated with various advisory groups on behalf of the DIR, DWC, and CHSWC. Don’s expertise in the field is also demonstrated by his experience as the first CEO of Priority CompNet (predecessor to MEDEX) as well as MEDEX from 1994 to 2006, and is a frequent speaker at trade meetings concerning the complexities of these valuable medical control programs.

Our legal support team also offers consultation and training in the legal and regulatory aspects of your workers’ compensation program. MPNs and HCOs especially have specialized legal and regulatory requirements that can become problematic for employers, TPAs, and insurance companies who are unsure or unaware of the law. MEDEX legal support consultation and training optimizes the effectiveness of your workers’ compensation program by analyzing, educating, and minimizing your legal risk.