What the panel ordered
The WCAB granted removal, rescinded the WCJ's Order Denying Emergency Petition to Stay PQME Evaluation, and returned the matter to the trial level for further proceedings.
Defendant sought removal of the WCJ's Order Denying Emergency Petition to Stay PQME Evaluation issued December 8, 2020. The WCJ denied the petition to stay the PQME evaluation scheduled for December 19, 2020.
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 the WCJ's denial of the emergency stay premature and procedurally improper, requiring further proceedings to address the specialty dispute with due process.
From the decision · page 1Defendant seeks removal of the Order Denying Emergency Petition to Stay PQME1 Evaluation (Order) issued by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) on December 8, 2020.2 By the Order, the WCJ denied defendant's Emergency Petition to Stay PQME Evaluation on December 19, 2020 Under CCR 10470.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
The WCJ denied the emergency petition to stay the PQME evaluation scheduled for December 19, 2020 without a hearing or opportunity for the parties to present evidence.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This procedural error led the WCAB to grant removal and rescind the order to ensure due process.
From the decision · page 2The WCJ issued the Order denying defendant's Petition on December 8, 2020. The Order stated in pertinent part:
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Rea v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 625
Due process requires notice and a meaningful opportunity to present evidence before a determination is made on the QME panel specialty dispute.
The WCAB rescinded the WCJ's order to ensure due process rights were protected and returned the matter for further proceedings.
From the decision · page 4Cal.Comp.Cases 312] [due process requires notice and a meaningful opportunity to present evidence in regards to the issues].) The dispute may be addressed in further proceedings including at the upcoming hearing that remains scheduled for February 8, 2021.
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, former 10470(a), now 10530(a)
WCAB Rule 10530(a) permits a party to file an emergency petition to stay an action pending a hearing, and the presiding WCJ has discretion to deny or grant such a stay.
The WCJ denied the emergency petition without a hearing, which the WCAB found improper as the parties were not given an opportunity to present evidence and arguments.
From the decision · page 3WCAB Rule 10530(a) (formerly Rule 10470) permits a party to file with the presiding WCJ an emergency petition to stay an action by another party pending a hearing. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, former § 10470(a), now § 10530(a) (eff. Jan. 1, 2020).) The Rule provides in relevant part:
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Defendant received the list of panel evaluators on October 19, 2020 and the appointment notice for the December 19, 2020 evaluation on November 13, 2020, but did not act timely to stay the evaluation.
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About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
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