What the panel ordered
The WCAB panel denied the defendant's petition for reconsideration and upheld the WCJ's Findings, Award, and Order.
Defendant filed a petition for reconsideration of the WCJ's Findings, Award, and Order dated February 13, 2026, which was denied by the WCAB panel on May 19, 2026.
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.
ApportionmentApplicant prevailedbilateral shoulders · left knee
The WCJ found that the QME Dr. Hughes did not adequately explain the apportionment of pre-existing conditions to the current impairment as required by Escobedo, and thus rejected the apportionment and rated permanent disability at 76% without apportionment based on Dr. Reiter's opinion.
From the decision · page 3The WCJ's opinion found that apportionment was not appropriately addressed per the standards outlined in Escobedo v. Marshalls (2005) 70 Cal.Comp.Cases 604, 611 (en banc) because the physician did not clearly outline the pre-existing conditions nor did he adequately address with particularity how those conditions caused the current impairment. He accepted the QME's opinion that the impairment to the right and left shoulder should be added instead of combined. The WCJ also found that the correct occupational code is 330 based on the job description provided (Defendant's Exhibit A.)