Evidence

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DAVID VS GOLIATH – WCAB Hearing is set for August 25, 2026

Bull Dung & Haggle: Bullshit + Haggle = To “haggle” means to persistently argue or negotiate over the price or terms of a contract to reach an agreement. It is the process of making offers and counteroffers until the parties settle on a mutually acceptable deal.

In my opinion, Argonauts’ best legal counsel turned out to be my own attorneys, Dean Goetz & Richard Sax. Knowing about the open WCAB case. Why didn’t either one help me when the OSA was issued? Attorneys sure do stick together don’t they!?! Back door dealings in my opinion. They both were my attorneys for the Olsen Steel Lawsuit. Dismissing my case WITH PREJUDICE before WCAB judge even saw or approved the C&R leaves a lot of questions unanswered. They helped Argonaut get away with their BAD-FAITH (BULL DUNG & HAGGLE) TACTICS. FULL STOP!!!!

In October 1998, Argonaut faced substantial exposure as the liability carrier in a multimillion-dollar third-party action involving Olsen Steel while simultaneously serving as the workers’ compensation carrier under an Owner-Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP), also known as “wrap-up insurance, “a single, centralized insurance policy purchased and managed by a property owner to cover all contractors and subcontractors working on a construction project. Under an OCIP, the insurance company cannot ignore state workers’ compensation laws. They are bound by separate legal duties for each policy.  

• No P&S/MMI report means no cutoff: In almost all states, they cannot legally stop your temporary disability benefits without a medical report from a doctor stating you have reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) / Permanent and Stationary (P&S) status, or unless a judge orders it.  

• Bad Faith liability: In California, an insurance company can be sued for “Bad Faith” if they intentionally mishandle a workers’ comp claim or withhold benefits without a valid medical reason to gain leverage in a separate liability lawsuit. 
• On October 2, 1998, Argonaut terminated my temporary disability benefits based upon an asserted Permanent and Stationary status even though no written Permanent and Stationary report had been issued. 

 In California in 1998, a workers’ compensation insurance company could not legally cut off my Temporary Disability (TD) benefits by simply claiming I were Permanent and Stationary (P&S) and a Qualified Injured Worker (QIW) without a formal medical report to back it up. A 1998 case involves specific historical rules that are different from today’s laws. 

1. Labor Code Section 4650 (The Right to Continuous Payments) 

Labor Code Section 4650 mandates exactly how and when disability payments must be made. Under this statute, once TD payments start, the insurance company must continue making them every 14 days until the worker returns to work, or until a doctor officially declares the injury is Permanent and Stationary (P&S). By stopping payments without medical proof, they violated the timing and payment mandates of this code. 

2. Labor Code Section 5814 (Unreasonable Delay or Refusal of Benefits) 

Labor Code Section 5814 states that when payment of compensation has been unreasonably delayed or refused, the worker is entitled to a steep penalty added to their award. Under 1998 laws, stopping benefits without a supporting medical report was automatically considered an “unreasonable refusal,” triggering a mandatory 10% penalty on the entire class of those benefits.  

3. California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 8, § 10464 (Illegal Termination) 

Under California’s workers’ comp procedural rules, an insurance company could not just stop paying if an employee disputed the cutoff. They were required to file a formal “Petition to Terminate Liability for Temporary Disability Indemnity” with the WCAB. 

California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 8, § 10464 (which governed the required contents of a Petition to Terminate Liability for Temporary Disability) is precisely the rule Argonaut bypassed and weaponized to execute an illegal termination of my benefits in October 1998. 

• Argonaut never served me this petition within 10 days of stopping payments. 

• The petition had to attach the medical report showing I was P&S. 

• Argonaut stopped my checks and failed to file this petition; violating the California Code of Regulations rules. 

4. CCR Title 8, § 9812 (Failure to Provide Required Legal Notice) 

In California, insurers must provide highly specific benefit notices. Under CCR Rule 9812, if an administrator stops your benefits, they must send a formal “Notice of Termination of Disability Indemnity” within 14 days. This notice must state the legal and factual basis for the cutoff and must enclose the medical report they relied on. Cutting off benefits without enclosing a doctor’s report is a direct violation of this rule.  

Because my injury occurred in 1998, the insurer did not have the defense of the modern 104-week (2-year) statutory cap, which didn’t exist yet. Their failure to pay me until a doctor put it in writing means they essentially accumulated unpaid back-benefits (plus 10% interest and penalties) every single month they left me without checks.  
By analyzing § 10464 alongside case facts, the timeline reveals exactly how the insurance company broke the rules—and how my “attorney’s abandonment” helped Argonaut get away with it. 

The Legality Threshold: They stopped my benefits on October 2, 1998, but failed to file this formal petition, or filed it without attaching a valid, up-to-date P&S medical report from an authorized doctor; the termination was legally invalid. Argonaut effectively stopped my benefits through administrative silence, gambling that I wouldn’t fight back. 

The Collusion with the OCIP and Third-Party Trial 

Section 10464 exists to prevent insurance carriers from using economic starvation as a weapon. In this case, the “wrap-up” conflict made this violation devastating:  

• The Strategy: The carrier used the excuse of a “Qualified Injured Worker” (QIW) status to claim I was no longer temporarily disabled but rather “permanently disabled and heading to vocational rehab.” 

• The Leverage: Because they knew the Olsen Steel, third-party trial was looming; Argonaut intentionally violated and rushed the § 10464 process to abruptly cut my cash flow. They knew that an injured worker facing a courtroom without any income is highly likely to break and accept a lowball settlement offer on the third-party case. 

Argonauts’ own internal memorandum reportedly acknowledges that the physician had only verbally indicated that a report would be prepared, but that report was never issued. Shortly thereafter, the Compromise and Release was executed, yet the WCAB refused to approve it because Permanent and Stationary reports had not been filed. The following day, the treating surgeon documented that Applicant remained temporarily disabled, required additional surgery, and x-rays revealed a broken plate at the EXACT SITE THE PIN was removed on October 5th. The broken plate is one of the strongest facts because it undermines the premise that my condition has stabilized. 

The evidence establishes that: 

• no physician had declared P&S in a written report before benefits were terminated;  

• hardware failed shortly after the carrier treated/claimed I was P&S;  

• additional surgery became necessary; and  

• My treating physician certified temporary disability rather than P&S,  

I argue there is a substantial factual basis to question whether I had reached maximum medical improvement when benefits were stopped. 

The fact that Argonaut insured both sides supports a conflict-of-interest argument: 

It created a financial incentive that is relevant to evaluating the carrier’s decisions. The stronger argument is not that the dual role alone proves bad faith, but that it provides context for why the timing of the benefit termination and settlement efforts deserve scrutiny. 

• the August 18, 1998 Mediation Brief shows Argonaut’s exposure in the third-party case;  

• the October 5, 1998 treatment record showing no P&S report was prepared despite the office procedure; and no medical report about the pin removal. 

• the October 6, 1998 Notice Stopping Benefits stating I was P&S and a Qualified Injured Worker;  

• CorVel Case Manager, Doris Harrah’s October to December attempt to obtain a P&S Report, as documented in her Progress Reports #34, #35, #36, #37 and Closing Report. 

• the April 18, 2000, internal memo acknowledging that the anticipated written P&S report was never issued;  

• Dr. Braun had from October 5 to December 9 to write a P&S report. He never did. 

• the December 8, 1998, WCAB order suspending the C&R because P&S reports had not been filed. 

• the December 9, 1998, communication sheet documenting temporary disability and the need for additional surgery; and  

• Argonauts’ dollar-for-dollar Petition for Credit  

• Argonauts’ Dual-Role as the workers’ compensation claim for Kvaas Construction, and 

• the third-party liability claim involving Olsen Steel, 

Taken together, these documents support an argument that the termination of benefits and pursuit of settlement preceded the medical documentation that ordinarily would be expected to support a conclusion that I had reached permanent and stationary status. 

How My Attorney Failed Me (The Missing Counter-Attack) 

The CCR gave my attorneys a direct roadmap to stop this tactic, which they completely ignored. When an insurer unilaterally cuts benefits or files a faulty § 10464 petition, my attorney’s immediate duties under the companion rule (CCR § 10466) were to: 

1. File a Formal Objection: Formally object to the petition within 14 days of service. 

2. Request an Expedited Hearing: Force the insurance carrier to go before a Workers’ Compensation Administrative Law Judge (WCALJ) to justify the cutoff. 

3. Seek a Labor Code § 5814 Penalty: File a petition for an automatic 10% cash penalty against the insurer for “unreasonably delaying or refusing” to pay benefits without a proper legal/medical basis.  

4. My attorneys did nothing to protect me. 

My attorneys stayed silent and failed to file the objections to allow the trial date to arrive without forcing the insurer to restore my bi-weekly payments. Instead, my attorney, Dean Goetz, (without my knowledge or consent and without Richard Sax objection) chose to go to the Superior Court on November 9^th, the exact day the highly illegal pay-out and Requested a Dismissal of my multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Olsen Steel “with prejudice”. He did this before the Third-Party Compromise and Release was even looked at or approved by a WCAB judge. Thereby destroying the only leverage I had for a fair settlement offer should the C&R not be approved. Then abandoned me by failing to show up with me at the December 8, 1998, pre-trial conference hearing where Judge Dietterle put an Order Suspending Action (OSA) on the C&R.  My attorneys failed me again by refusing to object to the dollar-for-dollar Petition for Credit of $128,910.35 by Argonaut on December 30, 1998. This attorney abandonment caused me to have to pay for my own surgeries.  

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