What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration dismissed as moot for challenging a rescinded decision; would have been denied on merits if filed timely.
Defendant filed a Petition for Reconsideration challenging a Findings and Award dated May 21, 2021, which was rescinded and replaced by a June 14, 2021 Findings and Award. The Petition was dismissed as moot because it challenged the rescinded May 21 decision and no new Petition was filed for the June 14 decision.
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 WCJ found applicant sustained injury AOE/COE to low back and spine while working, not due to horseplay or willful misconduct, based on credible testimony and medical reports including PQME Dr. Moshe Lewis.
From the decision · page 1On June 14, 2021, defendant filed a Petition for Reconsideration challenging a Findings and Award dated May 21, 2021 and issued on May 26, 2021 by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ). Therein, the WCJ found that applicant sustained injury arising out of and occurring in the course of employment (AOE/COE) to the low back and spine while working as a food handler on May 19, 2019, that the injury did not arise out of horseplay, that the injury is not barred by Labor Code1 section 3600(a)(5), and that defendant is barred from asserting an affirmative defense under section 5705(c). On May 28, 2021, the WCJ issued an order rescinding the Findings and Award dated May 21, 2021. The WCJ issued a second Findings and Award on June 14, 2021, making essentially the same findings as in the original decision. Pursuant to our authority, we accept applicant's and defendant's supplemental pleadings.2 (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, former § 10848, now § 10964 (eff. Jan. 1, 2020).) We have reviewed defendant's Petition for Reconsideration, the WCJ's Amended Report and Recommendation on Petition for Reconsideration (Report), the parties' supplemental pleadings, and the record in this matter. Based on our review and for the reasons stated below, we will dismiss defendant's Petition for Reconsideration as moot.