What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by defendant Inglewood Unified School District, P.S.I., administered by Keenan & Associates, denied by the WCAB panel after review and adoption of the WCJ report.
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.
ApportionmentApplicant prevailedcervical spine · lumbar spine · left knee · right knee
The medical opinion of PQME Michael Luciano, M.D., was found not to be substantial medical evidence supporting apportionment due to lack of sufficient records and reliance on conjecture. The defendant failed to meet its burden of proof for apportionment.
From the decision · page 1Labor Code1 section 4663(a) provides that "[a]pportionment of permanent disability shall be based on causation." (Lab. Code, § 4663(a).) Section 4664(a) states that "[t]he employer shall only be liable for the percentage of permanent disability directly caused by the injury arising out of and occurring in the course of employment." (Lab. Code, § 4664(a).) The defendant has the burden of proof on the issue of apportionment. (Kopping v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2006) 142 Cal.App.4th 1099, 1114 [71 Cal.Comp.Cases 1229].)