What the panel ordered
Petition for reconsideration granted; WCJ's November 2, 2023 decision rescinded; matter returned to WCJ for further proceedings and decision on the current record.
Petition for removal of the WCJ's Findings and Order of November 2, 2023, granted by the WCAB panel, rescinding the WCJ's decision and returning the matter for further proceedings.
This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold January 31, 2022.
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 ordered further development of the record for apportionment, but the WCAB found that the defendant failed to meet its burden of proof to establish apportionment, and further development would cause irreparable harm to the applicant. Therefore, the WCAB granted reconsideration, rescinded the WCJ's order, and returned the matter for decision on the current record.
From the decision · page 3On July 19, 2022, the Court of Appeal denied applicant's Petition for Writ of Review. On August 14, 2023, the parties proceeded to trial and offered additional reporting into evidence. Applicant withdrew her claim of injury to the right knee. (Minutes of Hearing (Further), dated August 14, 2023, at p. 2:1.) The parties submitted the matter for decision. (Id. at p. 1:22.) On November 2, 2023, the WCJ issued the F&O, ordering in relevant part that the August 14, 2023 submission be vacated, and directing the orthopedic AME to "write a supplemental report with a complete Benson analysis which includes the right hand/wrist and assesses apportionment to each separate date of injury." (F&O, Finding of Fact No. 2.) Applicant's November 27, 2023 Petition for Removal (Petition) avers the WCJ's F&O will result in significant prejudice and irreparable harm, and that the finding of no industrial injury to the right knee is unsupported in the record. (Petition, at p. 1:23.) The WCJ's Report observes that the decisions of the Appeals Board must be based on an accurate and fully developed evidentiary record, and that following further reflection on the issues raised by applicant, the WCJ recommends the Petition be granted.