Farmer pleads guilty in pot growing scheme
National News
A Northern California farmer renowned nationally for his heirloom tomatoes has pleaded guilty to leasing out his greenhouses for growing marijuana.
Sixty-four-year-old Thomas Jopson of Sutter County pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture at least 50 marijuana plants, three years after 2,168 marijuana plants were seized from the ranch of Thomas and David Jopson in Rio Oso.
The Sacramento Bee reports that an Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur, Yan Ebyam, faces trial March 3 for allegedly setting up marijuana cultivations at the ranch and at a wholesale florist greenhouse in Sacramento County.
U.S. District Judge United States John A. Mendez ordered Thomas Jopson to appear for sentencing June 24. According to statements in court, David Jopson is expected to plead guilty on Feb. 18.
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Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.