What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied, affirming the WCJ's findings and order.
Defendant sought reconsideration of the Amended Joint Findings and Award and Order issued by the WCJ on March 25, 2022, which found injury claims in two cases were subsumed into a cumulative injury claim, awarded 73% permanent disability, and denied defendant's request for credit for temporary disability overpayment.
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's impairment rating of 73% permanent disability was supported by substantial medical evidence, including Dr. Hatch's detailed report and Almaraz/Guzman analysis. The defendant's request for credit for temporary disability overpayment was denied due to lack of a proper petition for credit and equitable considerations, as the overpayment was due to the defendant's error and crediting it would deprive the applicant of disability indemnity.
From the decision · page 1Defendant seeks reconsideration of the Amended Joint Findings and Award and Order issued by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) on March 25, 2022, wherein the WCJ found in pertinent part the injury claims in case number ADJ10596376 and case number ADJ11367370 were subsumed into the cumulative injury claim in case number ADJ10595392, that the injury in case number ADJ10595392 caused 73% permanent disability, and that defendant's request for credit for the claimed temporary disability indemnity overpayment was denied.