What the panel ordered
Petition for disqualification of the WCJ is denied.
Petition for disqualification of the WCJ filed by applicant, alleging bias, was considered and denied by the WCAB panel based on the WCJ's Report and record 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.
The WCAB panel found no sufficient factual basis for disqualification, relying on the WCJ's Report and legal standards that erroneous rulings or adverse state of mind based on evidence do not constitute disqualifying bias.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks disqualification of the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) based upon the allegation that the WCJ made a statement indicative of bias.1, 2
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
The WCJ made rulings and expressed determinations based on evidence and witness credibility, which is not bias.