What the panel ordered
Petition for disqualification granted; assigned WCJ disqualified; case returned for reassignment to a new WCJ.
Petition for disqualification of the assigned trial judge filed by applicant and granted by the Appeals Board, returning the case for reassignment to a new WCJ.
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 Appeals Board found an appearance of bias sufficient to warrant disqualification despite no actual bias being proven, based on the objective test of whether a reasonable person might doubt the judge's impartiality.
From the decision · page 1We have considered the allegations of the Petition for Disqualification filed by the applicant and the contents of the report of the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) with respect thereto. Based on our review of the record, we will grant applicant's petition for disqualification of the assigned trial judge, order the assigned trial judge disqualified, and return this matter to the Presiding Judge for reassignment of the case to a new WCJ.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.