What the panel ordered
Petition for Removal granted; February 9, 2023 Order rescinded; matter returned to trial level for further proceedings
Petition for Removal from February 9, 2023 WCJ Order compelling parties to submit joint letter to QME
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 February 9, 2023 order was an interlocutory procedural order, not a final order, so removal was appropriate to protect applicant's due process rights because the order lacked findings and rationale, and reconsideration was inadequate.
From the decision · page 1We have considered the allegations of the Petition for Removal and the contents of the report of the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) with respect thereto. Based on our review of the record, and for the reasons discussed below, we will grant the petition, rescind the order compelling additional discovery with the QME, and return this matter to the trial level for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.