What the panel ordered
The WCAB grants the petition for reconsideration, rescinds the Findings and Order issued on March 26, 2024, and returns the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings consistent with the decision.
Applicant seeks reconsideration or alternatively removal of the Findings and Order issued by the WCJ on March 26, 2024, which found the WCAB no longer had jurisdiction to address applicant's September 30, 2021 petition to re-open and re-activate the claim.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The WCAB found that the petition to re-open was essentially a petition to set aside the order of dismissal and that the WCAB retains jurisdiction to reconsider and allow further proceedings, favoring adjudication on the merits and due process rights.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration or alternatively removal of the Findings and Order (F&O), issued by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) on March 26, 2024, wherein the WCJ found in pertinent part that based on the April 19, 2021 order of dismissal, the WCAB no longer has jurisdiction to address applicant's September 30, 2021 "Petition to Re-Open and Re- Activate Applicant's Worker's Compensation Claim."