April Case Law Update

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 | 0

JURISDICTION AND SUBROGATION

In Gonzalez v. Seal Methods, Inc. (2013) 79 CCC 134, the 2nd District Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment in favor of a defendant that an employee's injury while using a power press did not fall under the exception defined in LC 4558.

In Avalos v. Tony's Landscaping, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 7, the WCAB rescinded a WCJ's decision that an applicant relinquished his right to prosecute a workers' compensation claim by signing a settlement agreement and mutual release resolving a civil suit.

INJURY

In Campos v. University of Southern California, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 46, the panel majority held that an applicant did not sustain a compensable injury when she returned to work to retrieve her husband's keys approximately five hours after her shift ended and was sexually assaulted by a co-worker.

In Aguilar v. BHS Corrugated North America, Inc., 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 43, the panel majority held that an applicant's injury in a motor vehicle accident was not compensable when it was sustained during an unpaid, off-premises lunch period.

STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS

In Gutierrez v. Marriott International (LAX), 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 19, the WCAB held that a lien filed Sept. 11, 2012, for services performed June 30, 2003, was barred by the statute of limitations under former LC 4903.5(a) because the lien was filed more than six months after a stipulated award Jan. 10, 2011.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

In Martinez v. Vortex Whirlpool Systems, Inc., 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 29, the WCAB affirmed a WCJ's decision that an applicant was not entitled to treat outside the defendant's MPN despite the applicant's contention that the defendant provided ineffective and unsuccessful medical treatment that amounted to refusal of medical treatment.

In Ayala v. County of Los Angeles/King Drew Medical Center, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 45, the WCAB held that the OMFS applied in cases in which the employee's injury was denied by the defendant.

TEMPORARY DISABILITY

In Villalobos v. Bright Horizons Family Solutions, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 42, the WCAB rescinded a WCJ's decision that the 104-week cap applies exclusively to payment of temporary total disability indemnity.

PERMANENT DISABILITY

In Dahl v. Contra Costa County, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 2, the WCAB affirmed a WCJ's decision that an applicant sustained 79 percent PD when she rebutted the PD schedule under Ogilvie.

In Larsen v. Southwest Airlines, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 26, the WCAB affirmed a WCJ's decision, per LC 4663, apportioning 75 percent of an applicant's disability to a prior injury of Sept. 21, 2000, for which the employee received an award of 32 percent PD.

PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

In Blaylock v. Negherbon Auto Center, dba Negherbon Lincoln Mercury, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 1, the WCAB affirmed a WCJ's decision when an employer violated LC 6404.5, which prohibits the smoking of tobacco products in all enclosed places of employment.

DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT

In Batten v. Long Beach Memorial Hospital, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 9, the WCAB rescinded a WCJ's decision finding that the medical opinion relied on by the judge was not admissible under LC 4064(d).

In Navarro v. City of Montebello  (2014) ADJ6779197; ADJ7472140; ADJ7964720 (appeals board en banc), the WCAB issued a new en banc decision after giving the parties 20 days to respond to its earlier proposed holdings to CCR 35.5(e).

LITIGATION

In Bernal v. Stanford University, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 10, the WCAB rescinded a WCJ's decision to close discovery and set the matter for an MSC when the applicant filed a DOR for a status conference.

In Ibanez v. Golden Den Corp. dba Denny's, 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 21, the WCAB denied a petition to vacate its earlier decision even though the defendant alleged that prior to the decision, the applicant's attorney had a conversation with an appeals board commissioner about the case.

Complete discussion of these topics can be found in Sullivan On Comp available to subscribers at http://www.workcompcentral.com/sullivan.

Michael Sullivan is the founder of Michael Sullivan & Associates LLP, a workers' compensation defense firm with five offices in Southern California, and author of "Sullivan on Comp," a treatise on California workers' compensation law.