ADJ10954617 — California WCAB decision

What the panel ordered

Petitions for Reconsideration filed by applicant are dismissed as not aggrieved and because the Notice of Intention to Compel is not a final order or decision.

Applicant filed Petitions for Reconsideration opposing a Notice of Intention to Compel Regular Physician Exam issued by the WCJ; the WCJ issued a Report and Recommendation to deny the Petition; the Appeals Board reviewed the Petitions and the WCJ Report and dismissed the Petitions as the applicant was not aggrieved.

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This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold June 12, 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.

Reconsideration / removalDefendant prevailed

The Notice of Intention to Compel is not a final order or decision, so the Petitions for Reconsideration are not appropriate and the applicant is not aggrieved. The Appeals Board dismissed the Petitions accordingly.

From the decision · page 5Here, the WCJ issued an NIT, which is not a final order or decision, thus a Petition for

The rules the panel named

Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.

Lab. Code, §§ 5900, 5902, 5903; Rymer v. Hagler (1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 1171; Maranian v. WCAB (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 1068

A petition for reconsideration may only be taken from a final order, decision, or award; interlocutory procedural or evidentiary decisions are not final orders (Lab. Code, §§ 5900, 5902, 5903; Rymer v. Hagler (1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 1171; Maranian v. WCAB (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 1068).

The Notice of Intention to Compel is an interlocutory procedural order, not a final order, so the Petitions for Reconsideration are not proper and must be dismissed.

From the decision · page 4II. A petition for reconsideration may properly be taken only from a "final" order, decision, or award. (Lab. Code, § 5900(a), 5902, 5903.) A "final" order has been defined as one that either "determines any substantive right or liability of those involved in the case" (Rymer v. Hagler (1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 1171, 1180; Safeway Stores, Inc. v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (Pointer) (1980) 104 Cal.App.3d 528, 534-535 [45 Cal.Comp.Cases 410]; Kaiser Foundation Hospitals v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (Kramer) (1978) 82 Cal.App.3d 39, 45 [43 Cal.Comp.Cases 661]) or determines a "threshold" issue that is fundamental to the claim for benefits. (Maranian v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 1068, 1070, 1075 [65 Cal.Comp.Cases 650].) Interlocutory procedural or evidentiary decisions, entered in the midst of the workers' compensation proceedings, are not considered "final" orders. (Id.

Lab. Code, § 5909

The Appeals Board must act on a petition for reconsideration within 60 days of transmission of the case to the Appeals Board (Lab. Code, § 5909).

The Appeals Board acted on the petition within 60 days of transmission, so the petition was timely.

From the decision · page 3Former section 5909 provided that a petition for reconsideration was deemed denied unless the Appeals Board acted on the petition within 60 days from the date of filing. (Lab. Code, § 5909.) Effective July 2, 2024, section 5909 was amended to state in relevant part that:

ADJ10954617 · March 23, 2026

What the panel ordered

What was disputed, and how it came out

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The facts that decided it

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The rules the panel named

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