What the panel ordered
The July 2, 2024 Findings of Fact and Order is rescinded and the matter is returned to the trial level for further proceedings.
Petition for reconsideration of the July 2, 2024 Findings of Fact and Order was granted, rescinding the prior decision and returning the matter to the 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.
AOE/COERemandedhernia
The WCJ initially found no injury arising out of employment due to unpled injury date, but the Appeals Board held that the WCJ can amend pleadings to conform to proof and remanded for further proceedings.
From the decision · page 4Turning to the merits of this case, the WCJ denied Dr. Moshfegh's lien because Dr. Moshfegh's report chronicles a specific injury that occurred on March 27, 2011, a date of injury that was not claimed in this matter. "The purported 3/27/11 event has never been pled, nor is it part of the present litigation." (Report, p. 3.) The WCJ points out that the only claim at trial was an alleged specific injury of May 26, 2011. (Report, p. 1.) However, a WCJ is not limited to the issues presented on the pleadings. (Lab. Code, § 5702.) A WCJ has the authority to amend the pleadings to conform to proof. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10517.) In other words, having different dates of injuries in the Application for Adjudication and in Dr. Moshfegh's report is not fatal. For that reason, we grant reconsideration, rescind the July 2, 2024 Findings of Fact and Order, and return this matter to the trial level for further proceedings.