What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration granted; WCJ's April 16, 2024 decision rescinded; new decision issued granting entitlement to an additional panel in ophthalmology; issue of new panel in neurology deferred to WCJ.
Applicant sought reconsideration of the WCJ's Findings of Fact and Order of April 16, 2024, which denied good cause for an additional panel in Ophthalmology. The WCJ admitted error in not ruling on the request for a new panel in neurology and recommended remand for that issue.
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 issue of entitlement to a new panel in neurology was deferred to the WCJ for initial ruling.
From the decision · page 3We take no position on the ultimate resolution of any of these issues. For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that Applicant's Petition for Reconsideration of the Findings of Fact and Order of April 16, 2024 is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED as the Decision After Reconsideration of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board that the Findings of Fact and Order of April 16, 2024 is RESCINDED and that the following is SUBSTITUTED therefor:
Applicant established good cause for an additional panel in ophthalmology based on documented diagnoses and inability of current medical professional to opine on causation, supported by liberal discovery policies.
From the decision · page 32. The applicant has established good cause for an additional panel in Ophthalmology.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant documented diagnoses and inability of current medical professional to opine on causation.
Favours Applicant prevailed
Established good cause for an additional panel in ophthalmology, leading to grant of petition for reconsideration.
From the decision · page 2Administrative Rule 31.7 states that a party is entitled to a panel in an additional medical specialty upon a showing of good cause. Given the liberal policies in favor of discovery, good cause was plainly shown here, where applicant has documented diagnoses and a medical professional has already stated that they are unable to opine on causation. Although the WCJ cited
What the panel did with the medical opinions
The role the physician served, and the weight the opinion carried. Physicians are named here as the decision names them; we do not score them.
Diagnosed numerous eye issues but unable to state causation due to lack of pre-injury examination; unfamiliar with forensic medicine and AMA Guides.
Unable to opine on causation, supporting good cause for additional panel.
From the decision · page 2Applicant in this matter claims industrial injury to the eyes. Applicant was evaluated by optometrist Cynthia Huang, OD who diagnosed applicant with numerous eye issues but was "unable to state causation of [applicant's] symptoms and visual findings as [she] did not see [applicant] prior to the injury." (June 2, 2021 report at p. 4.) At her August 20, 2021 deposition, Dr. Huang testified that many conditions could have a neurological or optometric/ophthalmological dimension. She did not clarify her opinions on medical causation. It appears that Dr. Huang is somewhat unfamiliar with forensic medicine, at least when it comes to workers' compensation. She testified that she had never had her deposition taken before (August 20, 2021 deposition at p. 4), and was unfamiliar with the AMA Guides or the concept of medical probability (August 20, 2021 deposition at pp. 18-19.)
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Administrative Rule 31.7
A party is entitled to a panel in an additional medical specialty upon a showing of good cause.
From the decision · page 2Administrative Rule 31.7 states that a party is entitled to a panel in an additional medical specialty upon a showing of good cause. Given the liberal policies in favor of discovery, good cause was plainly shown here, where applicant has documented diagnoses and a medical professional has already stated that they are unable to opine on causation. Although the WCJ cited
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Applicant documented diagnoses and medical professional's inability to opine on causation.
From the decision · page 2Administrative Rule 31.7 states that a party is entitled to a panel in an additional medical specialty upon a showing of good cause. Given the liberal policies in favor of discovery, good cause was plainly shown here, where applicant has documented diagnoses and a medical professional has already stated that they are unable to opine on causation. Although the WCJ cited
The same issues, filtered across the whole corpus — or paste your own facts and let the search rank by factor match.
About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
- The injured worker is not named here, and the case caption is not printed. Physicians appear as the decision names them, because a medical opinion is an act in a public proceeding.
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