What the panel ordered
Findings of Fact dated August 21, 2018 rescinded; substituted findings that contract for hire was formed in California conferring jurisdiction to WCAB.
Petition for Reconsideration granted to review jurisdictional issue; WCJ originally found no California jurisdiction; WCAB reconsidered and reversed jurisdiction finding.
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.
Jurisdiction / venueApplicant prevailedmultiple body parts including orthopedic, head, neck, spine, hips, upper and lower extremities, neurological, and internal systems
The WCAB found that a valid oral contract for hire was formed in California, conferring jurisdiction despite the later written contract signed in Colorado with an integration clause.
From the decision · page 15In summary, we find that applicant negotiated and finalized all of the essential and reasonably negotiable terms of an employment contract with the Colorado Rockies from his home in California on June 8, 2014. The making of a valid contract for hire in California served to confer jurisdiction over the ensuing claim of injury, pursuant to section 3600.5(a) and section 5305. Once conferred, California may not be deprived of that jurisdiction by the ratification of a subsequent employment contract. Accordingly, we will rescind the Findings of Fact and substitute findings that California has jurisdiction to adjudicate the claimed injuries.