What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied
Applicant seeks reconsideration of a WCJ's Findings and Award of September 16, 2021
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.
Permanent disability ratingDefendant prevailedright shoulder · lumbar spine · thoracic spine · cervical spine
The WCJ correctly rejected Dr. Patel's alternative Guzman analysis because it did not adequately explain why the standard AMA Guides ratings did not reflect the applicant's impairment and was inconsistent with the Guides.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration of a workers' compensation administrative law judge's (WCJ) Findings and Award of September 16, 2021, wherein it was found that, while employed during a cumulative period ending on May 17, 2017 as a correctional officer, applicant sustained industrial injury to her right shoulder, lumbar spine, thoracic spine, and cervical spine, causing permanent disability of 58% and the need for further medical treatment. In making his findings regarding the level of permanent impairment, the WCJ followed the strict interpretation of the AMA Guides impairments offered by panel qualified medical evaluator chiropractor Naeem M. Patel, D.C. However, the WCJ declined to adopt Dr. Patel's alternative impairment analysis pursuant to Milpitas Unified School District v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (Guzman) (2010) 187 Cal.App.4th 808 [75 Cal.Comp.Cases 837].