What the panel ordered
The July 17, 2018 Findings and Order is rescinded and the matter is returned to the trial level for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.
Petition for Reconsideration of the July 17, 2018 Findings and Order was granted to study factual and legal issues further, leading to rescission of the prior Findings and Order and remand for further proceedings.
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 found that the post-MSC medical records should be admitted because the surgery occurred after the MSC, making it impossible to obtain the reports before the MSC cutoff, and any misconduct by applicant's attorney should be addressed by sanctions, not exclusion of evidence.
From the decision · page 11Finally, we turn to the admissibility of applicant's post-surgery medical reports relating to his July 2017 surgery, which occurred after the MSC. Section 5502, subdivision (d)(3) provides that if the dispute over a claim is not resolved at the MSC, "the parties shall file a pretrial conference statement... listing the exhibits and disclosing witnesses. Discovery shall close on the date of the mandatory settlement conference. Evidence not disclosed or obtained thereafter shall not be admissible unless the proponent of the evidence can demonstrate that it was not available or could not have been discovered by the exercise of due diligence prior to the settlement conference."