What the panel ordered
Petition for reconsideration granted; Findings and Order of January 14, 2026, rescinded; matter returned to trial level for further proceedings.
Petition for reconsideration of the Findings and Order issued by the workers' compensation arbitrator (WCA) served on January 14, 2026, granted; the F&O is rescinded and the matter is returned to the trial level for further proceedings.
This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold April 5, 2024.
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 Appeals Board found the record incomplete and lacking required minutes and summaries, making meaningful review impossible, thus rescinding the F&O and returning the matter to the trial level for further proceedings.
From the decision · page 5The WCA issued a Report dated February 10, 2026; however, filing of the arbitration file in EAMS was never completed as required by WCAB Rules 10914 and 10995, because the existing record does not contain a transcript of proceedings, Minutes of Hearing and Summary of Evidence, or any other record of the stipulations and issues entered into by the parties, nor any summary of the testimony presented at the arbitration trial. The Appeals Board may not ignore due process for the sake of expediency. (Barri v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2018) 28 Cal.App.5th 428, 469 [83 Cal.Comp.Cases 1643] [claimants in workers' compensation proceedings are not denied due process when proceedings are delayed in order to ensure compliance with the mandate to accomplish substantial justice]; Rucker v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2000) 82 Cal.App.4th 151, 157-158 [65 Cal.Comp.Cases