What the panel ordered
Petition for reconsideration denied; WCJ decision affirmed.
Petition for reconsideration of WCJ Findings of Fact and Opinion on Decision issued February 1, 2022, regarding applicability of 240-week exception to 104-week cap on temporary disability benefits under Labor Code section 4656(c)(3)(C).
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 Appeals Board found that the partial removal of the skull does not qualify as an amputation under the statute and Cruz precedent, as the skull is not an external projecting body part or appendage, and there was insufficient medical evidence to support the applicant's contention.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration of the Findings of Fact and Opinion on Decision (F&O) issued by a workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) on February 1, 2022. In the F&O, the WCJ found that applicant did not qualify for the 240-week exception to the 104-week cap on temporary disability benefits set forth in Labor Code section 4656(c)(3)(C),2 because the partial removal of applicant's skull did not qualify as an "amputation" under the statute, as interpreted by the Appeals Board in Cruz v. Mercedes-Benz of San Francisco (Cruz) (2007) 72 Cal.Comp.Cases 1281 (Appeals Board en banc).