What the panel ordered
Findings, Award and Orders issued on November 10, 2020, rescinded; matter returned to WCJ for further proceedings
Petition for reconsideration granted; decision after reconsideration issued rescinding prior Findings, Award and Orders and returning matter to trial level for further proceedings
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.
Psyche AOE/COERemandedpsyche
The QME's psychiatric injury causation opinion was conclusory, failed to comply with Rolda requirements, and did not provide substantial evidence to support the WCJ's finding of compensable psychiatric injury; therefore, the decision was rescinded and remanded for further proceedings.
From the decision · page 6Here the QME's reporting does not adequately address causation of applicant's psychological injury. The QME initially opined that applicant's psychological injury was caused by her 2017 injury, however, applicant sustained two injuries in 2017, a specific and a cumulative. The QME failed to address which 2017 injury caused the psychological sequala. The QME's opinion on causation was conclusory, without explanation, and failed to comply with the specific requirements of Rolda. The WCJ's decision to assign disability to one of the 2017 injuries and not the other was not based upon substantial evidence.