What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by defense counsel challenging the rating method of the AME report; WCJ report recommended denial of reconsideration.
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 prevailedcervical spine · lumbar spine · hands · wrists · left ankle · fibromyalgia
The WCJ and panel found substantial medical evidence supporting the addition of orthopedic disability to cognitive dysfunction and sleep/arousal disability based on the AME Dr. Silverman's reasonably articulated medical basis and synergistic effect.
From the decision · page 1Here, the WCJ determined that applicant's orthopedic disability should be added rather than combined with her cognitive dysfunction and sleep/arousal disability. (Formal Rating Instructions, dated October 21, 2022, p. 2; Report and Recommendation on Petition for Reconsideration, dated December 20, 2022, at p. 3.) The WCJ based her decision on the recommendations of Stuart Silverman, M.D., the Agreed Medical Examiner (AME) in rheumatology. (Opinion on Decision, dated November 21, 2022, at pp. 4-5.) Defendant contends Dr. Silverman offered only a conclusory statement in deposition that he "would add [orthopedic disability] to the rheumatological impairments," but otherwise failed to explain his reasoning in reaching this conclusion. (Petition for Reconsideration, dated December 9, 2022, at 3:22.)