ADJ11276804 — California WCAB decision

What the panel ordered

Petition for Reconsideration granted in part; Amended Findings and Award affirmed except amended to extend temporary total disability period and award attorney fees.

Applicant seeks reconsideration of the Amended Findings and Award issued by the WCJ on December 8, 2020, regarding temporary total disability benefits.

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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.

Temporary disabilityApplicant prevailedleft shoulder · left wrist · left hand · left thumb · neck · upper back · lower back · right shoulder

Applicant was temporarily totally disabled due to the September 28, 2017 injury until November 8, 2019, and is entitled to temporary disability indemnity benefits beyond the previously awarded period, up to 104 weeks from October 30, 2017.

From the decision · page 1We have considered the allegations in the Petition for Reconsideration (Petition) and the Answer, and the contents of the Report. Based on our review of the record, and for the reasons discussed below, we will grant reconsideration, and we will affirm the F&A except that we will amend the F&A to find that applicant was temporarily totally disabled for the period beginning October 30, 2017, to and including November 8, 2019, and that applicant has received temporary disability indemnity during the period from October 30, 2017, through May 11, 2019, (Finding of

What proof carried it

The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.

Testimony and credibilityfavours Applicant prevailed

Parties stipulated to injury arising out of and in the course of employment to multiple body parts on September 28, 2017.

From the decision · page 225.) The parties proceeded to trial on October 9, 2019. They stipulated that applicant sustained injury arising out of and occurring in the course of employment (AOE/COE) to his, "... neck, upper and lower back, left wrist, left hand and thumb, left [sic] shoulder and right shoulder" on September 28, 2017, and that defendant was "unable to accommodate modified duties." (Minutes of Hearing and Summary of Evidence (MOH/SOE), October 9, 2019, p. 2.) The issues submitted for decision included temporary disability: applicant claimed the period from May 12, 2019, through September 27, 2019; defendant claimed that the injury in this case (ADJ11276804) was "an exacerbation" of the injury in case number ADJ11276803, and since it paid temporary disability indemnity for 104 weeks in case number ADJ11276803, it had met the 104 week maximum, so it did not owe applicant any additional temporary disability indemnity benefits. (MOH/SOE, p. 3.)

Medical recordsfavours Applicant prevailed

Medical reports from Dr. Woods confirmed the September 28, 2017 injury aggravated multiple body parts and caused left shoulder adhesive capsulitis.

From the decision · page 2BACKGROUND Applicant claimed injury to his neck, upper and lower back, bilateral shoulders, left wrist, left hand, and left thumb, when he had to stop a large reel of wire from rolling after it had fallen from a stand, while employed by defendant as a park maintenance worker/electrical worker on September 28, 2017. (see Application for Adjudication of Claim, ADJ11276804.) Applicant had previously claimed injury to the same body parts, when he fell from a ladder, while employed by defendant on March 22, 2017. (see Application for Adjudication of Claim, ADJ11276803.) On January 15, 2019, applicant was evaluated by orthopedic agreed medical examiner (AME) Richard I. Woods, M.D. (Board Exh. X, Dr. Woods, January 25, 2019.) Dr. Woods examined applicant, took a history, and reviewed the medical record. The doctor noted that applicant's March 22, 2017 "fall off a ladder" injured multiple areas and that the September 28, 2017 injury "... aggravated his neck, left hand/thumb, thoracolumbar spine, and also his left elbow and forearm." (Board Exh. X, pp. 24 § 25.) Dr. Woods then said that applicant, "developed left shoulder adhesive capsulitis following the left wrist surgery" and that applicant had not reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). (Board Exh. X, p.

ADJ11276804 · February 23, 2021

What the panel ordered

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