What the panel ordered
Petition for reconsideration denied.
Petition for reconsideration filed by Sanjay Agarwal, M.D., challenging the WCJ's Findings of Fact & Order dated October 2, 2023, which denied jurisdiction due to failure to submit dispute to Independent Bill Review (IMR).
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 found that the petitioner failed to submit the dispute to Independent Bill Review as required by law, thus the WCAB lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute directly. The petitioner must first exhaust IMR before appealing to the WCAB.
From the decision · page 3On October 2, 2023, the undersigned WCJ issued his Findings of Fact & Order, finding that the WCAB did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the cost petitioner's petition due to his failure to submit the dispute to IMR. Aggrieved by this decision, the cost petitioner filed his petition for reconsideration.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.