The mileage rate for medical & medical-legal travel expenses increased to 58.5 cents per mile effective July 1, 2008.

This rate must be paid for travel on or after July 1, 2008 regardless of the date of injury.

Labor Code section 4600, in conjunction with Government Code section 19820 and the Department of Personnel Administration regulations, establishes the rate payable for mileage reimbursement for medical and medical-legal expenses and ties it to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published mileage reimbursement rate.

The mileage rate from Jan. 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008 was 50.5 cents per mile. The rate was 48.5 cents per mile in 2007 and was 44.5 cents per mile between July 1, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2006. Prior to that the rate had been 34 cents per mile since 2001.

The updated mileage reimbursement form is posted on the DWC Web site at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/forms.html.