What the panel ordered
The Appeals Board grants reconsideration, rescinds the March 5, 2024 Joint Findings and Order, and returns the matter to the trial level for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.
Applicant seeks reconsideration of the March 5, 2024 Joint Findings and Order where the WCJ found the retroactive predesignation of Optum and Dr. Marlowe as treating physician invalid under Labor Code section 4600(d). The WCJ recommended denial of the petition. The Appeals Board grants reconsideration and rescinds the March 5, 2024 decision, returning the matter to the trial level for further record development.
This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold April 11, 2022.
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 record lacked sufficient evidence to establish that the designated medical group 'Optum' met the statutory requirements under Labor Code section 4600(d)(2)(B). The WCJ found the retroactive predesignation invalid, but the Appeals Board found the record insufficiently developed and remanded for further evidence.