What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration is granted; final decision after reconsideration is deferred pending further review of the merits and entire record.
Applicant seeks reconsideration of the WCJ's Findings and Order denying injury arising out of and in the course of employment (AOE/COE) of Valley Fever or lungs, and the WCAB grants reconsideration and defers final decision pending further review.
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.
Applicant contends entitlement to the presumption of injury AOE/COE under Labor Code section 3212 as a police officer, which the WCAB preliminarily agrees applies, but the WCJ applied section 3212.10. The case is remanded for further review of the presumption and rebuttal evidence.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration of the Findings and Order (F&O), issued by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) on February 20, 2025, wherein the WCJ found that applicant did not sustain injury arising out of and in the course of employment (AOE/COE) of Valley Fever or lungs and ordered that applicant take nothing by way of the claim filed.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant was employed as a police officer for the City of Chula Vista and contracted valley fever (pneumonia) during employment, manifesting on May 24, 2022.
Favours Applicant prevailed
This fact establishes the applicability of the presumption of industrial causation under Labor Code section 3212 or 3212.10, which is central to the injury AOE/COE issue.
From the decision · page 3Applicant, born [], while employed on May 24, 2022, as a police officer, occupational group no. 490, at Chula Vista, California, by City of Chula Vista Police Department, claims to have sustained injury arising out of and in the course of employment to his respiratory system, resulting in a diagnosis of valley fever and pulmonary coccidioidomycosis. The City of Chula Vista timely denied the case.
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.
Issued multiple reports and was deposed regarding the injury AOE/COE issue.
From the decision · page 3Based upon the required stipulation in the ADR agreement, the parties utilized IME Dr. Jonathan Green who issued multiple five reports (five) (Joint Exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6) and was deposed on one occasion (Joint Exhibit 5).
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code sections 3212, 3212.10
Presumption of industrial causation under Labor Code section 3212 and section 3212.10 for police officers.
The WCAB preliminarily agrees that section 3212 applies to the applicant as a police officer, but the WCJ applied section 3212.10. The distinction affects the burden of proof and rebuttal of the presumption.
From the decision · page 5In this case, applicant contends that, as a police officer, he is entitled to a presumption under section 3212 [hernia, heart trouble, pneumonia], whereas the WCJ evaluated applicant's contentions pursuant to section 3212.10 [heart trouble, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and meningitis]. As relevant here, section 3212 includes "members... of police or fire departments of cities and counties...", and section 3212.10 includes "a peace officer as defined in Section 830.5 of the Penal Code and employed by a local agency...." Penal Code section 830.5 states that: "Any person who comes within the provisions of this chapter and who otherwise meets all standards imposed by law on a peace officer is a peace officer, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person other than those designated in this chapter is a peace officer. The restriction of peace officer functions of any public officer or employee shall not affect his or her status for purposes of retirement."
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Applicant's attendance at the Coachella concert in April 2022 was alleged by defendant to rebut the presumption of industrial causation.
From the decision · page 6In applying the presumptions, it is sufficient for an applicant to show that they fall under one of the enumerated job categories and that they had one of the enumerated conditions. Here, it is undisputed that applicant was employed as a police officer. It is also undisputed that applicant contracted valley fever (pneumonia) during the period of his employment and that it manifested on May 24, 2022. Defendant alleged that applicant's attendance at the Coachella concert in April 2022 rebuts the presumption that applicant's valley fever was industrial. However, as set forth in section 3212, it is not clear if evidence of possible non-industrial exposure prior to the manifestation of the disease is sufficient to rebut the presumption.
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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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