What the panel ordered
Petition for Removal granted; Findings and Order affirmed except amended to deny defendant's request for replacement QME panel.
Petition for Removal of Findings and Order issued on March 6, 2023 granted by the Appeals Board, which affirmed the Findings and Order except that defendant's request for a replacement QME panel was denied.
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 although the applicant violated the 20-day service requirement under Labor Code section 4062.3, the defendant was not prejudiced to a degree warranting a replacement QME panel, considering the Suon factors and the long involvement of Dr. Blackwell as QME.
From the decision · page 4Clearly, the cover letter of January 19, 2023 to the QME for the reevaluation set on January 23, 2023 was not served on the defendant twenty days in advance of the evaluation as required by Labor Code Section 4062.3. Sections 4062.3(b) and (e) are mandatory as each party "shall" comply with service of both information and communications intended for the QME twenty days in advance of the evaluation. The plain reading of the statute requires strict application. Applicant's cover letter, served on defendant on January 19, 2023 after close of business for the evaluation date of January 23, 2023 was in violation of Labor Code section 4062.3. Defendant's objection dated January 30, 2023, was within ten calendar days of the first service of applicant's cover letter and is timely and valid.