Governor Cuts Back on Wild Workers' Comp Fund | Irvine News

Presented by The Plant Daddies — rare specimen trees, living art, and hand-carved limestone vessels and fountains for extraordinary spaces. Showrooms in Los Angeles and Irvine. Listeners of Irvine News Today receive 10% off with code LANEWS10. theplantdaddies.com/lanews Governor Gavin Newsom just slammed the brakes on a wildly abused state fund paying out up to $1,700 weekly to workers claiming everyday ailments like allergies or erectile dysfunction made them unable to work. Originally meant for WWII veterans, the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund spiraled out of control—payments jumped from $28 million to $326 million, applications surged from 1,000 to 5,000, and 25,000 cases now sit in a decade-long backlog. Shocking cases include a highway patrol lieutenant who cashed in $200K for asthma, sleep apnea, and skin issues, and a prison guard who got nearly $300K for toenail fungus and eczema. New rules now demand pre-existing conditions must have been diagnosed before the new injury and actually hinder job performance—tightening the system to honor its original mission and closing loopholes for overzealous lawyers. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/9e379c32ac419be8