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.
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.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant was not labor disabled at the time of QME evaluations on August 24, 2023 and March 21, 2024.
Favours Defendant prevailed
Entitlement to section 4850 benefits requires incapacity to work or loss of salary; applicant was not incapacitated or on leave of absence.
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.
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.
Evaluated applicant for right kidney injury and bilateral inguinal hernias on August 24, 2023 and March 21, 2024. Applicant was not labor disabled at the time of evaluations.
Parties stipulated applicant was not labor disabled at the time of evaluations, which was material to entitlement to section 4850 benefits.
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.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code section 4850
Labor Code section 4850 provides salary continuation in lieu of temporary disability for qualifying peace officers who are disabled due to a work injury.
Section 4850 benefits require incapacity to work or loss of salary; applicant was not incapacitated or on leave of absence at time of QME evaluations.
From the decision · page 5Whenever any person listed in subdivision (b), who is employed on a regular, full- time basis, and is disabled, whether temporarily or permanently, by injury or illness arising out of and in the course of the person's duties, the person shall become entitled, regardless of the person's period of service with the city, county, or district, to a leave of absence while so disabled without loss of salary in lieu of temporary disability payments or maintenance allowance payments, if any, that would be payable under this chapter, for the period of the disability, but not exceeding one year, or until that earlier date as the person is retired on permanent disability pension, and is actually receiving disability pension payments, or advanced disability pension payments pursuant to Section 4850.3. (Lab. Code, § 4850(a).)
Labor Code section 4600(e)(1)
Labor Code section 4600(e)(1) provides compensation for time spent attending medical evaluations as a medical-legal benefit, not traditional temporary disability.
Applicant was paid temporary disability indemnity at the regular rate for attending QME evaluations, which is distinct from section 4850 benefits.
From the decision · page 4of temporary disability indemnity for each day of wages lost in submitting to the examination."
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Parties stipulated applicant was not labor disabled at the time of QME evaluations.
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.
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.
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