What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied.
Petition for Reconsideration of Findings and Orders issued on November 3, 2023, denied by the WCAB panel decision dated January 23, 2024.
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 WCJ and WCAB found that the DEU's use of a 3% SAWW rate for commutation calculation was reasonable and in the best interest of the applicant, rejecting the request for a higher rate of 4.14%.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration of the Findings and Orders (F&O) issued on November 3, 2023, wherein the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) found as relevant that (1) the case in chief was resolved by a findings and award issued on June 29, 2022; (2) neither party sought reconsideration of the June 29, 2022 findings and award; and (3) applicant's attorney did not prove that the DEU should be ordered to calculate a commutation of the attorney's fee arising from applicant's life pension by factoring an increase in the state average weekly wage (SAWW) at a rate higher than 3 percent.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.