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Access over workers' compensation decisions, including En Banc, Significant Panel Decisions, and writ-denied cases.
Reconsideration granted to address errors in permanent disability rating and apportionment. Matter returned for new rating considering walker use and clarifying apportionment.
The Appeals Board affirmed the WCJ's decision, finding applicant reached permanent and stationary status on October 3, 2008, based on Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME) Dr. Chun's substantial evidence. The Board also upheld the 90% apportionment of permanent disability to applicant's pre-existing degenerative osteoarthritis, finding Dr. Chun's opinion supported by Dr. Rimoldi's report. The applicant's arguments regarding the P&S date and apportionment were rejected as misplaced or not supported by substantial evidence.
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board affirmed a prior award for applicant Lola Robinson against the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF). The award compensated her for a combined permanent disability of 78%, stemming from a subsequent industrial injury to her upper extremity and pre-existing conditions of hepatitis C and a hysterectomy. The Board found that medical evidence established pre-existing whole person impairments from these conditions, meeting the "labor disabling" threshold for SIBTF benefits. The Board held that the physician's ratings under the AMA Guides constituted prima facie evidence of pre-existing impairment, which the SIBTF failed to rebut.
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board granted reconsideration and rescinded the original Findings and Award due to a conflicted medical opinion regarding apportionment. The Board found the medical expert's initial apportionment was unreliable due to his admission of not reviewing his own report, and ordered the case returned for further medical evidence development on the issue of apportionment between the specific injury, cumulative trauma, and pre-existing conditions. This includes obtaining a new medical-legal evaluation to determine the extent of permanent disability and its allocation.
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board granted reconsideration and reversed a prior ruling, finding the applicant eligible for Subsequent Injuries Fund (SIBF) benefits. The Board determined that the applicant's credible, unrebutted testimony regarding his pre-existing left upper extremity limitations constituted substantial evidence of an "impairment" affecting that limb. Consequently, the case was returned for further proceedings to establish the extent of SIBF benefits.
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board denied reconsideration for Paul Neal's case. The Board adopted the judge's report which found that Neal's pre-existing COPD constituted a pre-existing disability despite his prior employment. The judge also found Neal's testimony credible regarding his limited actual work hours, supporting the award of permanent total disability based on expert vocational opinion.
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) granted the defendant's petition for reconsideration, reinstating an earlier award that apportioned 20% of the applicant's permanent disability to pre-existing factors. The WCAB found the Agreed Medical Evaluator's (AME) opinion on apportionment to be substantial evidence under current law, even though the pre-existing conditions were asymptomatic prior to the industrial injury. This decision reverses the WCJ's later finding of 32% permanent disability without apportionment.
This case concerns Miguel Angel Cruz's petition for reconsideration of a denial of Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF) benefits. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board affirmed the denial, finding no evidence that Mr. Cruz's pre-existing degenerative spinal condition was "labor disabling" prior to his industrial injury. Crucially, the Board held that a retroactive prophylactic work restriction by a physician after the injury does not establish a pre-existing labor-disabling condition for SIBTF eligibility.
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board affirmed the August 16, 2021 Findings of Fact and Order to Take Nothing on SIBTF Petition. Applicant Hadrian Lara sought reconsideration, contending that the non-industrial apportionment of his hypertension proved a pre-existing permanent partial disability for SIBTF eligibility. The Board clarified that apportionment determines present disability causation and does not automatically establish a pre-existing, labor-disabling condition as required for SIBTF benefits under Labor Code section 4751.
This case involved a custodian injured on the job, causing admitted industrial injury to her knee and lumbar spine. The Administrative Law Judge apportioned 50% of the permanent disability to pre-existing arthritis, a decision the applicant contested. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board denied reconsideration, finding the apportionment supported by medical evidence indicating the industrial injury and pre-existing arthritis jointly necessitated knee replacement surgery. This aligns with precedent requiring apportionment to all causative factors, including underlying pathology.
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