Where this sits
- Chapter 4.5.
- Division of Workers' Compensation
- Subchapter 2. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board--Rules and Practice Procedure
- Article 11. Evidence
The regulation, as printed
The statute above this rule
Every regulation names the Labor Code it was written under. This is where the two halves of the law meet.
ImplementsLabor Code § 4628
Authority and history
Note: Authority cited: Sections 133, 5307, 5309 and 5708, Labor Code. Reference: Sections 126, 4628, 5316, 5500, 5501, 5703, 5708 and 5813, Labor Code.
1. New article 11 heading and new section filed 12-17-2019; operative 1-1-2020. Submitted to OAL for printing only pursuant to Government Code section 11351 (Register 2019, No. 51). 2. New subsection (c), repealer of subsection (d) and subsection relettering filed 12-15-2021; operative 1-1-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3). Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Government Code section 11351 (Register 2021, No. 51).
What panels did with this rule
Released decisions that named § 10670, with the passage each turned on. A panel decision persuades; it does not bind.
- ADJ10961264 · 2025-11-07 · Anaheim District Office8 CCR § 10670
Determinative passage · p.7II. In any matter in which a possible section 4628 deficiency is raised, the WCJ must determine if such a deficiency exists, and if so, whether the deficiency can be cured. Curing defects in medical-legal reporting furthers our constitutional mandate of expeditious resolution of claims and achieving substantial justice. (Cal. Const., art. XIV, § 4 [A complete system of workers' compensation serves "shall accomplish substantial justice in all cases expeditiously, inexpensively, and without incumbrance of any character"].) "Substantial justice" is an exhortation that the workers' compensation system must focus on the substance of justice, rather than on the arcana or minutiae of its administration. (See Lab. Code, § 4709 ["No informality in any proceeding... shall invalidate any order, decision, award, or rule made and filed as specified in this division."].) WCAB Rule 10670, subdivision (b)(4), provides that the Appeals Board may decline to receive in evidence any physician's report that does not comply with section 4628 "unless good cause has been shown for the failure to comply and, after notice of non-compliance, compliance takes place within a reasonable period of time or within a time prescribed by the workers' compensation judge." (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10670(b)(4).) Thus, Rule 10670 provides a mechanism for section 4628 compliance deficiencies to be cured.
Board held that deficiencies under section 4628 may be curable if notice and opportunity to cure are provided.
Official decision · page 7 → - ADJ11621404 · 2021-02-16 · Stockton District Office8 CCR § 10670
Determinative passage · p.2We must first point out, it is well established that any award, order or decision of the Appeals Board must be supported by substantial evidence. (Lab. Code, § 5952(d); Lamb v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd. (1974) 11 Cal.3d 274, 281 [39 Cal.Comp.Cases 310].) Decisions of the Appeals Board, and in turn, the WCJs, "must be based on admitted evidence in the record." (Hamilton v. Lockheed Corporation (2001) (Appeals Board en banc) 66 Cal.Comp.Cases 473, 476.) "The evidence submitted by the parties must be formally admitted and must be included in the record to enable the parties to comprehend the basis for the decision. Furthermore, a proper record enables any reviewing tribunal, be it the Board on reconsideration or a court of further appeal, to understand the basis for the decision." (Hamilton, supra, at 475.)
The WCJ's original decision was based on evidence not properly admitted into the record, thus the decision was rescinded and remanded for further proceedings.
Official decision · page 2 →
Rules beside this one
Article 11. Evidence — regulations rarely stand alone, and the answer is often two sections away.
- § 10672Evidence Taken Without Notice.
- § 10675Formal Permanent Disability Rating Determinations.
- § 10677Oversized Exhibits, Diagnostic Imaging, Physical Exhibits and Exhibits on Media.
- § 10680Reproductions of Documents.
- § 10682Physicians' Reports as Evidence.9 decisions
- § 10683Specific Finding of Fact - Labor Code Section 139.2(d)(2).