What the panel ordered
The Appeals Board panel denied the defendant's Petition for Reconsideration and upheld the WCJ's Findings and Award that the applicant sustained a psychiatric injury arising out of and in the course of employment.
Defendant filed a timely Petition for Reconsideration of the Findings and Award issued by the WCJ on April 14, 2021, which was denied by the Appeals Board panel on September 7, 2021.
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 substantial evidence in the QME Dr. Fruge's well-reasoned reports and deposition testimony that the applicant's pre-existing psychiatric disorders were predominantly aggravated by his employment with defendant, constituting a compensable industrial injury under Labor Code section 3208.3.
From the decision · page 1Defendant seeks reconsideration of the Findings and Award, issued by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) on April 14, 2021, wherein the WCJ found in pertinent part that applicant sustained a psychiatric injury, arising out of and occurring in the course of employment (AOE/COE), while employed by defendant.