What the panel ordered
Petition for disqualification denied
Petition for disqualification of the WCJ filed by applicant
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 WCJ's Report and the record did not establish grounds for disqualification such as bias or prejudice, and the petition was denied.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks disqualification of the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) because the current WCJ adjudicated a dispute between applicant and her former attorneys, and now that she is proceeding in pro per, it would be appropriate to appoint a new WCJ.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
The WCJ adjudicated a prior dispute between applicant and her former attorneys.
Favours Defendant prevailed
Applicant sought disqualification based on this prior adjudication, but the WCJ's Report found no grounds for disqualification.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks disqualification of the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) because the current WCJ adjudicated a dispute between applicant and her former attorneys, and now that she is proceeding in pro per, it would be appropriate to appoint a new WCJ.
The WCJ's Report and record review did not establish bias or prejudice against applicant.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This supported denial of the disqualification petition.
From the decision · page 1We have considered the allegations of the Petition for Disqualification and the contents of the WCJ's Report. Based on our review of the record and based upon the WCJ's analysis of the merits contained in the WCJ's Report, we will deny disqualification.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Code of Civil Procedure section 641
Code of Civil Procedure section 641 lists grounds for disqualification including bias or prejudice.
Applied to evaluate the petition for disqualification.
From the decision · page 1Labor Code1 section 5311 provides that a party may seek to disqualify a WCJ upon any one or more of the grounds specified in Code of Civil Procedure section 641. (§ 5311; see also Code Civ. Proc., § 641.) Among the grounds for disqualification under section 641 are that the WCJ has "formed or expressed an unqualified opinion or belief as to the merits of the action" (Code Civ. Proc., § 641(f)) or that the WCJ has demonstrated "[t]he existence of a state of mind... evincing enmity against or bias toward either party." (Code Civ. Proc., § 641(g)).
WCAB Rule 10960
WCAB Rule 10960 requires a petition for disqualification to be supported by detailed facts and timely filed.
Applied to evaluate the petition for disqualification.
From the decision · page 2Under WCAB Rule 10960, proceedings to disqualify a WCJ "shall be initiated by the filing of a petition for disqualification supported by an affidavit or declaration under penalty of perjury stating in detail facts establishing one or more of the grounds for disqualification...." (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10960, italics added.) It has long been recognized that "[t]he allegations in a statement charging bias and prejudice of a judge must set forth specifically the facts on which the charge is predicated," that "[a] statement containing nothing but conclusions and setting forth no facts constituting a ground for disqualification may be ignored," and that "[w]here no facts are set forth in the statement there is no issue of fact to be determined." (Mackie v. Dyer (1957) 154 Cal.App.2d 395, 399.)
Labor Code section 5311
Labor Code section 5311 provides grounds for disqualification of a WCJ.
Applied to evaluate the petition for disqualification.
From the decision · page 1Labor Code1 section 5311 provides that a party may seek to disqualify a WCJ upon any one or more of the grounds specified in Code of Civil Procedure section 641. (§ 5311; see also Code Civ. Proc., § 641.) Among the grounds for disqualification under section 641 are that the WCJ has "formed or expressed an unqualified opinion or belief as to the merits of the action" (Code Civ. Proc., § 641(f)) or that the WCJ has demonstrated "[t]he existence of a state of mind... evincing enmity against or bias toward either party." (Code Civ. Proc., § 641(g)).
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
WCJ's analysis in the Report did not show bias or prejudice against applicant
From the decision · page 1We have considered the allegations of the Petition for Disqualification and the contents of the WCJ's Report. Based on our review of the record and based upon the WCJ's analysis of the merits contained in the WCJ's Report, we will deny disqualification.
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.
- Issues, outcomes and weights were extracted by AI and released only where the source passage checked. Read the official decision before relying on anything here. Not legal advice.
- If you are named in this decision and want this page removed, write to privacy@similarcase.com.