What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration dismissed as premature and matter returned to trial level for hearing and record development.
Applicant, in pro per, sought reconsideration of the Order Approving Compromise and Release (OACR) dated March 6, 2019. The Appeals Board treated the petition as one to set aside the OACR and considered whether to reopen the settlement for good cause.
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 Appeals Board found that because no hearing was held and no record was developed at the trial level, it could not make a decision on the petition without giving the parties an opportunity to be heard and for the WCJ to create a complete record. The petition was dismissed as premature and the matter returned to the trial level.
From the decision · page 4Accordingly, we will dismiss the Petition as premature, and return this matter to the trial level. Upon return of this matter to the trial level, we recommend that the WCJ treat the Petition as a petition to set aside and set a hearing so applicant can provide evidence in support of the arguments contained in the Petition and create a record upon which a decision can be made by the WCJ.