What the panel ordered
The WCAB panel denied the lien claimant's petition for reconsideration, affirming the dismissal of the lien by operation of law due to failure to file the required declaration under Labor Code section 4903.05.
Lien claimant Charles Schwarz, M.D., filed petitions for reconsideration of the WCJ's Findings and Order dismissing his lien by operation of law for failure to file a declaration required by Labor Code section 4903.05. The WCJ recommended denial of the petitions, and the WCAB panel reviewed and denied reconsideration.
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 lien claimant failed to file the required declaration by the statutory deadline, resulting in dismissal of the lien by operation of law.
From the decision · page 1Lien claimant Charles Schwarz, M.D., (lien claimant) seeks reconsideration of the Findings and Order (F&O) issued on April 16, 2024 and the Amended Findings and Orders (Amended F&O) issued on May 14, 2024 by a workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ). In the F&O issued on April 16, 2024, the WCJ found that 1) lien claimant's failure to file the declaration required by Labor Code section 4903.05 resulted in the dismissal of his lien by operation of law on July 3, 2017, and that 2) independent medical reviews filed before July 3, 2017 were irrelevant to the need for filing the required declaration. The WCJ dismissed lien claimant's lien with prejudice by operation of law pursuant to Labor Code section 4903.05(c)(3)1.