What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration granted; final decision after reconsideration deferred pending further review.
Defendant sought reconsideration of the January 23, 2024 Findings and Award by the WCJ, which found injury arising out of employment and awarded permanent disability and future medical treatment; the WCAB granted reconsideration and deferred final decision pending further review.
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 injury to psyche arising out of employment based on medical evidence from PQME Dr. Erika Holiday and factual findings on personnel actions; the WCAB granted reconsideration and deferred final decision for further review.
From the decision · page 1Defendant seeks reconsideration of the Findings and Award (F&A) of January 23, 2024, of the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) finding in relevant part that applicant sustained injury arising out of and in the course of her employment on October 21, 2021 and during the period December 30, 2020 to December 30, 2021 to her psyche and awarded applicant permanent disability of 24% less reasonable attorney fees, and future medical treatment. Defendant contends that applicant's claim was barred by the good faith personnel action defense.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
PQME Dr. Erika Holiday found the predominant cause of the applicant's mental disorders was the personnel actions by the County of Los Angeles, including suspension threats and suspensions.
Favours Applicant prevailed
This medical opinion supported the finding of injury arising out of employment and causation for the psyche injury claim.
From the decision · page 2In her report of September 14, 2022, Panel Qualified Medical Evaluator (PQME) Dr. Erika Holiday found that with regard to AOE/COE causation, the predominant cause of the development of her mental disorders were caused (greater than 50%) by the threat of being suspended, subsequent suspension and sequelae while working for County of Los Angeles. He deferred whether or not this would be an industrial injury to the Trier of Fact.
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.
Found predominant cause of mental disorders was personnel actions at County of Los Angeles; apportioned causation percentages among suspension threat, suspension, erroneous suspension, and non-industrial stressors; recommended further medical care.
Medical evidence on causation and injury predominance; deferred ultimate industrial injury determination to trier of fact.
From the decision · page 2In her report of September 14, 2022, Panel Qualified Medical Evaluator (PQME) Dr. Erika Holiday found that with regard to AOE/COE causation, the predominant cause of the development of her mental disorders were caused (greater than 50%) by the threat of being suspended, subsequent suspension and sequelae while working for County of Los Angeles. He deferred whether or not this would be an industrial injury to the Trier of Fact.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code section 3208.3
Labor Code section 3208.3 governs compensability of psychiatric injury claims and the good faith personnel action defense.
The WCJ and WCAB applied the statute to evaluate causation and the defense in this case.
From the decision · page 3We highlight the following legal principles that may be relevant to our review of the matter. Labor Code1 section 3208.3 governs claims for psychiatric injury. To establish that a psychological injury is compensable, an injured worker must show by a preponderance of the evidence that actual events of employment predominantly caused the psychological injury. (Lab. Code, § 3208.3(b)(1).)
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Credibility of medical evidence from PQME Dr. Erika Holiday and factual findings on personnel actions
From the decision · page 1Defendant seeks reconsideration of the Findings and Award (F&A) of January 23, 2024, of the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) finding in relevant part that applicant sustained injury arising out of and in the course of her employment on October 21, 2021 and during the period December 30, 2020 to December 30, 2021 to her psyche and awarded applicant permanent disability of 24% less reasonable attorney fees, and future medical treatment. Defendant contends that applicant's claim was barred by the good faith personnel action defense.
The same issues, filtered across the whole corpus — or paste your own facts and let the search rank by factor match.
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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