What the panel ordered
WCAB affirms WCJ's April 4, 2019 Findings of Fact denying UEBTF's request for credit against death benefits for civil settlement proceeds received by decedent's wife.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF) seeking credit against its liability for death benefits was granted for further study; WCJ denied credit in April 4, 2019 Findings of Fact; WCAB after reconsideration affirms WCJ's denial.
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.
UEBTF failed to prove entitlement to credit because the civil settlement proceeds received by the decedent's wife were for loss of companionship, a separate claim not compensable as workers' compensation benefits to the deceased employee or dependent.
From the decision · page 3In its Petition, UEBTF contends that pursuant to sections 3709, 3709.5, and 3732, it is entitled to a mandatory credit for the applicant's civil settlement recovery. UEBTF asserts that the WCJ erroneously placed the burden upon it to prove "double recovery" between the death benefits that it paid to the applicant and the third party settlement proceeds in order obtain the credit. (Petition, pp. 3-6, citing Lab. Code, § 3709, 3709.5, 3732.) UEBTF argues that, if anything, it was the applicant's burden to prove that the civil suit was unrelated to her husband's industrial injury/death, and that the settlement proceeds thus did not constitute overlapping workers' compensation benefits for which UEBTF could claim credit.