What the panel ordered
March 12, 2021 Joint Findings, Award, and Order rescinded; matter returned to trial level for further proceedings
Petition for reconsideration granted; decision after reconsideration issued rescinding prior FA&O and returning matter to trial level for further proceedings
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.
Medical treatment / UR / IMRApplicant prevailedcervical spine · lumbar spine · bilateral knees · bilateral shoulders
The July 24, 2020 medical report was not available at the July 6, 2020 MSC and thus should be admitted under Labor Code section 5502(d)(3). Due process and fair hearing principles support admitting the report to ensure full development of the evidentiary record and substantial evidence support.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration of a March 12, 2021 Joint Findings, Award, and Order (FA&O) wherein a workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) found that applicant sustained injury arising out of and/or in the course of employment (AOE/COE) to the cervical spine, lumbar spine, bilateral knees, and bilateral shoulders. The WCJ also found the July 24, 2020 report of treater, Dr. Khalid Ahmed, to be inadmissible. Applicant alleges that the report should have been admitted under Labor Code section2 5502(d)(3) as it was unavailable at the time of the July 6, 2020 mandatory settlement conference (MSC).