What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied
Petition for Reconsideration filed by applicant and denied by the WCAB panel after review of WCJ Report and Recommendation
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.
Medical treatment / UR / IMRDefendant prevailedright kidney · bilateral inguinal hernias
Applicant was not labor disabled or on leave of absence at the time of QME evaluations and was paid temporary disability indemnity at the regular rate, so he is not entitled to section 4850 benefits which require incapacity to work or loss of salary.
From the decision · page 2FACTS Applicant, while employed during the period of December 15, 1997 to January 26, 2023, as a deputy sheriff by the County of Fresno sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of his employment to the right kidney. He also sustained a second cumulative injury during the period of December 15, 1997 through February 24, 2023, in the form of bilateral inguinal hernias. (Minutes of Hearing (MOH) pp. 2-3.) The QME in this matter evaluated applicant for both claimed injuries on two occasions, August 24, 2023 and March 21, 2024. (MOH, 3:24-25.) The parties stipulated that applicant was not labor disabled at the time of either QME evaluations. (MOH, 4:7-8.) They also stipulated that defendant paid benefits to applicant at the regular temporary disability rate for August 24, 2023 and March 21, 2024. (MOH, 3:15-16.) Trial went forward on September 8, 2025 without any additional exhibits or testimony. The only issue presented for trial was whether applicant is entitled to section 4850 benefits for attending QME evaluations on August 24, 2023 and March 21, 2024. The WCJ issued an F&O finding in pertinent part that applicant is not entitled to section 4850 benefits for attending QME evaluations with James Sherman, M.D., on August 24, 2023 and March 21, 2024.