What the panel ordered
The Petition for Reconsideration is granted. The March 11, 2024 Findings, Orders and Award is affirmed except amended to defer the issues of permanent and stationary date, apportionment, permanent disability, and attorney's fees. The matter is returned for further development of the record.
Defendant Beta Healthcare Group filed a timely Petition for Reconsideration of the March 11, 2024 Findings, Orders and Award. The WCJ prepared a Report recommending denial of the Petition. The Board granted reconsideration, amended the Findings, Orders and Award to defer the issue of permanent disability, and returned the matter for further development of the record.
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 Board found that the WCJ did not provide sufficient reasons for relying on Dr. Scheinberg's reports over Dr. Shah's reports, which is required under Hamilton and related case law for substantial evidence. Therefore, the issue of permanent disability and apportionment was deferred for further development of the record.
From the decision · page 3Here, defendant challenges the reliance on Dr. Scheinberg's reports and urges that the reports of Jayprakash Shah, M.D. are more reliable. Under Hamilton, supra, the WCJ must provide his reasons for why he relied on Dr. Scheinberg's reports instead of Dr. Shah's reports. It is only then that we can meaningfully evaluate the reasons or grounds upon which the court's decisions were made. (Lab. Code, § 5313; see also Blackledge v. Bank of America (2010) 75 Cal.Comp.Cases 613, 621-22 [2010 Cal. Wrk. Comp. LEXIS 74].) Accordingly, we grant reconsideration, amend the Findings, Orders and Award to defer the issue of permanent disability, and return the matter for further development of the record.