What the panel ordered
The Petition for Reconsideration is dismissed as premature and the matter is returned to the trial level for consideration of the Petition as one to set aside the OACR.
Applicant filed a Petition for Reconsideration of the June 17, 2022 Order Approving Compromise and Release (OACR), which the WCJ approved without a hearing. The WCJ recommended denial of the Petition, and the Board reviewed the Petition and the WCJ's 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.
The Board found the petition premature because no hearing was held and no complete record was created for review, thus the parties were not given an opportunity to be heard.
From the decision · page 3Because no hearing was held, the WCJ did not have the opportunity to assess the basis of the parties' understanding of the C&R. There is no Minutes of Hearing/Statement of Evidence in the record. Therefore, we cannot make a decision without giving the parties an opportunity to be heard and for the WCJ to create a complete record for our review.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
No hearing was held and no Minutes of Hearing/Statement of Evidence in the record.
Favours Applicant prevailed
Without a hearing and record, the Board could not assess the parties' understanding of the C&R or make a decision on the Petition.
From the decision · page 3Because no hearing was held, the WCJ did not have the opportunity to assess the basis of the parties' understanding of the C&R. There is no Minutes of Hearing/Statement of Evidence in the record. Therefore, we cannot make a decision without giving the parties an opportunity to be heard and for the WCJ to create a complete record for our review.
What the panel did with the medical opinions
The role the physician served, and the weight the opinion carried. Physicians are named here as the decision names them; we do not score them.
Physician stated applicant was totally partially disabled and in need of treatment.
Mentioned in applicant's contentions about disability and treatment need but not weighed by the Board.
From the decision · page 2Applicant contends that on September 24, 2021, the insurance company accepted liability for his back injury; that on November 11, 2021, he saw Dr. Mahboubian who said that he was totally partially disabled and in need of treatment; and that he signed the C&R on December 20, 2021, without receiving further evaluation from Dr. Mahboubian. He further contends that on June 7, 2022, he contacted his attorney to request that the attorney delete a certain entry on the settlement agreement about him stipulating that he was not entitled to a supplemental job displacement benefit (SJDB) voucher, as there was no finding of permanent disability. He was informed by his attorney's office that they would contact the defense attorney about it but he was later informed that the settlement that was filed with the court on the same day "did not have the entry" that he wanted to be deleted. Applicant also contends that the OACR indicated that there is an issue about his back injury not being related to the work he did for defendant. (Petition, p. 1.)
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, 10700(b)
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board shall inquire into the adequacy of all Compromise and Release agreements and Stipulations with Request for Award, and may set the matter for hearing to take evidence when necessary to determine whether the agreement should be approved or disapproved, or issue findings and awards.
Applied to require a hearing and complete record for review of the C&R approval.
From the decision · page 2"The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board shall inquire into the adequacy of all Compromise and Release agreements and Stipulations with Request for Award, and may set the matter for hearing to take evidence when necessary to determine whether the agreement should be approved or disapproved, or issue findings and awards." (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10700(b).) We observe that contract principles apply to settlements of workers' compensation disputes. Stipulations between the parties must be interpreted to give effect to the mutual intention of the parties it existed at the time of contracting, so far as the same is ascertainable and lawful. (County of San Joaquin v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Bd. (Sepulveda) (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 1180, 1184 [69 Cal.Comp.Cases 193], citing Civ. Code, § 1636.)
County of San Joaquin v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Bd. (Sepulveda) (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 1180
Stipulations between the parties must be interpreted to give effect to the mutual intention of the parties it existed at the time of contracting, so far as the same is ascertainable and lawful.
Applied to interpret the C&R agreement in light of parties' mutual intention.
From the decision · page 2"The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board shall inquire into the adequacy of all Compromise and Release agreements and Stipulations with Request for Award, and may set the matter for hearing to take evidence when necessary to determine whether the agreement should be approved or disapproved, or issue findings and awards." (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10700(b).) We observe that contract principles apply to settlements of workers' compensation disputes. Stipulations between the parties must be interpreted to give effect to the mutual intention of the parties it existed at the time of contracting, so far as the same is ascertainable and lawful. (County of San Joaquin v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Bd. (Sepulveda) (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 1180, 1184 [69 Cal.Comp.Cases 193], citing Civ. Code, § 1636.)
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
No hearing was held and no Minutes of Hearing/Statement of Evidence in the record.
From the decision · page 3Because no hearing was held, the WCJ did not have the opportunity to assess the basis of the parties' understanding of the C&R. There is no Minutes of Hearing/Statement of Evidence in the record. Therefore, we cannot make a decision without giving the parties an opportunity to be heard and for the WCJ to create a complete record for our review.
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About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
- The injured worker is not named here, and the case caption is not printed. Physicians appear as the decision names them, because a medical opinion is an act in a public proceeding.
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