What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration granted; F&O rescinded; case remanded to WCJ for further proceedings and new decision
Petition for Reconsideration granted, Findings of Fact and Order (F&O) of August 22, 2023 rescinded, matter returned to WCJ for further proceedings and new decision
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.
AOE/COERemandedpsyche
The WCJ's denial was based on lack of a formal psychiatric diagnosis by the AME, Dr. Bassett, and insufficient medical evidence to establish industrial injury. The WCAB found the medical evidence incomplete and insufficient to support the denial, granting reconsideration and remanding for further development of the record.
From the decision · page 3In her June 11, 2021 report, Dr. Bassett discusses decedent's psychological distress, emotional downward spiral, and emotional symptoms. (Board Exhibit X.)....[However], Dr. Bassett does not opine that any of decedent's symptoms met any of the diagnostic criteria for a disorder. Dr. Bassett mentions emotions in her reporting, but does not provide a formal diagnosis of any psychiatric condition which caused either disability or a need for treatment....No medical evidence was offered to substantiate that decedent had a diagnosed psychiatric injury. Without a psychiatric diagnosis, there is no industrial injury pursuant to Labor Code Section 3208.3(a) and therefore, decedent's suicide cannot be found to be a compensable consequence.