California Workers’ Comp Cases Roundup (6/1/2016)

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES

Vol. 81 No. 5 May 2016

A Report of En Banc and Significant Panel Decisions of the WCAB and Selected Court Opinions of Related Interest, With a Digest of WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

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LexisNexis Online Subscribers: You can link to your account on Lexis.com or Lexis Advance to read the complete headnotes and court decisions, en banc decisions, writ denied summaries, and selected board panel decisions.

Appellate Court Compensation Cases

Pacific Bay Recovery, Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Moore, Lionel), lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Petitions for Writ of Review—WCAB Confession of Error—Court of Appeal summarily granted Lien Claimant’s petition for writ of review and annulled WCAB’s order upholding denial of its claim for payment and its petition for reconsideration, and remanded case for further proceedings, when Court of Appeal found that…

Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. v. W.C.A.B. (Dreher, Mark), lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Psychiatric Injuries—Six-Month Employment Rule—Sudden and Extraordinary Employment Condition—Court of Appeal, annulling WCAB’s order granting reconsideration of applicant’s claim of psychiatric injury and remanding to WCAB with instructions to deny claim of psychiatric injury, held that applicant’s injury AOE/COE on 10/19/2009, incurred when he had been working for defendant for 74 days, was not extraordinary within meaning of Labor Code § 3208.3(d) and, thus, not compensable, when Court of Appeal found that...

Appellate Court Cases Not Originating With Appeals Board

Maderer v. City of Los Angeles, lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Civil Actions Against Employers—Claims Against Public Entities—Government Claims Act—Court of Appeal held that (1) trial court did not err in denying plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend complaint, (2) plaintiff’s claim for injuries was barred because plaintiff failed to identify statute that could impose liability on her public entity employer (defendant city) under Government Code § 815 (Government Claims Act, Government Code § 810 et seq.) for alleged hazing incident, and trial court properly sustained defendant’s demurrer on...

Matthews (Albert) v. Liberty Assignment Corp., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Compromise and Release—Assignment of Proceeds—Qualified Orders—Court of Appeal, affirming order of trial court, held that assignee of court judgment embodying workers’ compensation award based on compromise and release that created structured settlement payments to injured worker, assignor in present proceedings, was not entitled to qualified order approving assignment, when Court of Appeal found that…

Federal District Court Opinion of Related Interest

Black (John) v. CorVel Enterprise Comp., Inc., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Workers’ Compensation Benefits—Wrongful Denial and Unreasonable Delay of Benefits—Motions to Dismiss Complaint—U.S. District Court, Central District of California, (1) granted defendants CorVel Enterprise Comp and Mextli Hyde’s motion to dismiss specified individual plaintiffs’ third amended complaint with prejudice, since third amended complaint contained no allegations that certain of those plaintiffs were ever awarded workers’ compensation benefits in form of…

Appeals Board En Banc Decision

Cornejo (Rogelio) v. Younique Café, Inc., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Lien Claims—Copy Services—Registration and Bonding Requirements—WCAB en banc, affirming its 12/22/2015 decision, Cornejo v. Younique Café, Inc. (2015) 81 Cal. Comp. Cases 48 (Appeals Board en banc opinion), which it incorporated into present decision, held that, because Business & Professions Code § 22451(b) plainly states that it exempts member of…

Digests of WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review

Editorial Board members Frederick W. Bray, Hon. Colleen S. Casey, William A. Herreras, and John W. Miller recommended the following writ denied cases for summarization in this issue.

State of California/Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation v. W.C.A.B. (Van Dyk, Mark), lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Psychiatric Injury—Predominant Cause Standard of Proof—Apportionment of Causation—WCAB affirmed WCJ’s finding that applicant correctional officer, who settled his claim for 6/17/2005 specific lumbar spine injury and subsequently incurred admitted cumulative trauma to his back between 4/31/2007 and 1/4/2012, also suffered compensable psychiatric injury through 1/4/2012, when WCAB concluded that...

Walker (Ramonda) v. W.C.A.B., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

WCAB Jurisdiction—Employment Relationships—Contract for Hire—WCAB affirmed WCJ’s finding that WCAB did not have jurisdiction over applicant asbestos mechanic’s claim for 8/8/2014 industrial injury that occurred in Utah, even though applicant belonged to California-based union and claimed that employer’s headquarters was located in California, when WCAB found that…

Other WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review

Arroyo (Hector Bastida) v. W.C.A.B., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Cumulative Trauma Injury AOE/COE—WCAB held that applicant maintenance worker did not meet burden of proving cumulative trauma injury AOE/COE from 12/31/2013 through 12/31/2014 to multiple body parts, when WCAB found no evidence of…

Highland Insurance Co. v. W.C.A.B. (Guillen, Arturo), lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Petitions for Writ of Review—Final WCAB Orders—Court of Appeal dismissed petition for writ of review because WCAB order was not final order required by Labor Code §§ 5900 and 5901, when...

Hollins (Regina) v. W.C.A.B., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Discrimination—Labor Code § 132a—WCAB affirmed WCJ’s finding that defendant did not violate Labor Code § 132a based on process implemented in returning applicant data entry clerk to work following industrial injury to her right upper extremity and neck, or in adjustment of applicant’s benefit package, when WCAB concluded that...

James (Timothy) v. W.C.A.B., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Petitions for Writ of Review—Non-Final Orders—Court of Appeal dismissed petition for writ of review of WCAB order because WCAB order was not final order as required by Labor Code §§ 5900, 5901, when petitioners were appealing WCAB order in which WCAB (1) held that...

Olague (Pete) v. W.C.A.B., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Petitions for Reconsideration—Successive Petitions—WCAB dismissed applicant’s petition for reconsideration of WCAB’s previous opinion dated 11/24/2015 dismissing petition for reconsideration, when WCAB found that...

San Diego Imaging, Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Hill, Michael), lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Petitions for Reconsideration—Dismissal—Lack of Verification—WCAB dismissed petition for reconsideration because it was not verified as required by Labor Code § 5902, when WCAB found that...

Appeals Board Panel Decisions

De Guevara (Maria Arvizu) v. La Golondrina, Inc., Ltd, lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Medical Provider Networks—Access Standards—Treating Physicians—WCAB affirmed WCJ's finding that defendant's actions did not constitute denial of medical care, and that applicant was not entitled to treat outside defendant's MPN for her orthopedic injuries incurred while employed during period 11/6/2007 through 11/6/2014, when there were over 50 orthopedic surgeons and 15 chiropractors in defendant's MPN within 15 miles of applicant's zip code, and WCAB found that…

Ramos (Maria Uribe) v. Patterson Frozen Foods, Inc., lexis.com, Lexis Advance

Medical Treatment—Independent Medical Review—Appeals—WCAB, in split panel opinion, affirmed WCJ's denial of applicant's appeal of 3/12/2015 independent medical review (IMR) determination upholding utilization review (UR) decision pertaining to applicant's request for various prescription medications, when WCAB, like WCJ, rejected applicant's position that under…