What the panel ordered
The Board rescinded the WCJ's Findings and Order, found the cumulative injury claim was not resolved by the prior C&R, and allowed applicant to proceed with her claim in ADJ15223054.
Applicant sought reconsideration of the October 18, 2022 Findings and Order, which found her cumulative injury claim was settled by a prior C&R; the Board granted reconsideration and now issues its decision after reconsideration.
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 C&R only referenced the specific injury and case number ADJ12748629, not the cumulative trauma claim or case number ADJ15223054; thus, the cumulative claim was not resolved by the C&R and is not duplicative.
From the decision · page 5Applicant alleges she sustained injury to her nervous system including stress/psyche system on June 26, 2019. Thus, by definition her alleged injury, is a specific injury. Moreover, case number ADJ12748629 is the only case number listed in the C&R. In applicant's other claimed injury, she alleges she sustained a cumulative injury from June 25, 2018 to June 25, 2019, to her nervous system including psych, and stress, and it was assigned case number ADJ15223054.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
The C&R only referenced the specific injury (June 26, 2019) and case number ADJ12748629, not the cumulative trauma claim or case number ADJ15223054.
Favours Applicant prevailed
This showed the parties did not intend to settle the cumulative trauma claim, so applicant may proceed with it.
From the decision · page 5Applicant alleges she sustained injury to her nervous system including stress/psyche system on June 26, 2019. Thus, by definition her alleged injury, is a specific injury. Moreover, case number ADJ12748629 is the only case number listed in the C&R. In applicant's other claimed injury, she alleges she sustained a cumulative injury from June 25, 2018 to June 25, 2019, to her nervous system including psych, and stress, and it was assigned case number ADJ15223054.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Burbank Studios v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1982) 134 Cal.App.3d 929; Civ. Code §§ 1550, 1565, 1580, 1636, 1638, 1639; Lab. Code §§ 3208.1, 3208.2, 5411, 5412
Contract principles apply to settlements; there must be a meeting of the minds and mutual agreement on the same thing in the same sense. The plain language of the contract controls.
The Board interpreted the C&R's plain language and found it did not include the cumulative trauma claim, so the applicant may proceed with that claim.
From the decision · page 4We observe that contract principles apply to settlements of workers' compensation disputes. The legal principles governing compromise and release agreements are the same as those governing other contracts. (Burbank Studios v. Workers' Co. Appeals Bd. (1982) 134 Cal.App.3d 929, 935.) There can be no contract unless there is a meeting of the minds and the parties mutually agree. (Civ. Code, § 1550, 1565; Sackett v. Starr (1949) 95 Cal.App.2d 128; Sieck v. Hall (1934) 139 Cal.App.279, 291.) Moreover, there is no contract unless the parties agree upon the same thing in the same sense. (Civ. Code, § 1580; American Can Co. v. Agricultural Ins. Co. (1909) 12 Cal.App. 133, 137.) For a compromise and release agreement to be effective, the necessary elements of a contract must exist, including an offer of settlement of a disputed claim by one of the parties and an acceptance by the other. (Burbank Studios, supra, at p. 935.) A contract must be so interpreted as to give effect to the mutual intention of the parties as it existed at the time of contracting, so far as the same is ascertainable and lawful. (Civ. Code, § 1636; County of San Joaquin v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Bd. (Sepulveda) (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 1180, 1184
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
The C&R and its referenced case number and injury date did not include or describe the cumulative trauma claim or its case number.
From the decision · page 5Applicant alleges she sustained injury to her nervous system including stress/psyche system on June 26, 2019. Thus, by definition her alleged injury, is a specific injury. Moreover, case number ADJ12748629 is the only case number listed in the C&R. In applicant's other claimed injury, she alleges she sustained a cumulative injury from June 25, 2018 to June 25, 2019, to her nervous system including psych, and stress, and it was assigned case number ADJ15223054.
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About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
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