What the panel ordered
Order dismissing case is rescinded and matter returned to trial level for further proceedings.
Applicant sought reconsideration of an order dismissing her case without prejudice for failure to appear at a mandatory settlement conference; the WCAB granted reconsideration on its own motion.
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 WCJ dismissed the case without a hearing, without creating a record, and without issuing an opinion on decision, violating due process and statutory requirements.
From the decision · page 6Here, on February 18, 2022, the WCJ dismissed applicant's case without a hearing, without creating a record, and without issuing an opinion on decision.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
The WCJ dismissed applicant's case without a hearing, without creating a record, and without issuing an opinion on decision.
Favours Applicant prevailed
This violated statutory and due process requirements, requiring rescission of the dismissal and remand for further proceedings.
From the decision · page 6Here, on February 18, 2022, the WCJ dismissed applicant's case without a hearing, without creating a record, and without issuing an opinion on decision.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Lab. Code § 5313; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10761; Blackledge v. Bank of America, ACE American Insurance Company (2010) 75 Cal.Comp.Cases 613 (en banc)
A WCJ is required to make and file findings upon all facts involved in the controversy and an award, order, or decision stating the determination as to the rights of the parties, together with a summary of the evidence received and relied upon and the reasons or grounds upon which the determination was made.
The WCJ failed to issue an opinion on decision or create a record, violating these requirements.
From the decision · page 5The statutory and regulatory duties of a WCJ include the issuance of a decision that complies with Labor Code section 5313. A WCJ is required to "make and file findings upon all facts involved in the controversy and an award, order, or decision stating the determination as to the rights of the parties. Together with the findings, decision, order or award there shall be served upon all the parties. The endorsement to the proceedings a summary of the evidence received and relied upon and the reasons or grounds upon which the determination was made." (Lab. Code, § 5502, 5313; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10761; see also Blackledge v. Bank of America, ACE American Insurance Company (Blackledge) (2010) 75 Cal.Comp.Cases 613, 621-622 (Appeals Bd. en banc).)
Rucker v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2000) 82 Cal.App.4th 151; Gangwish v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 1284
All parties to a workers' compensation proceeding retain the fundamental right to due process and a fair hearing under both the California and United States Constitutions.
Determining an issue without giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard violates due process.
From the decision · page 6Moreover, all parties to a workers' compensation proceeding retain the fundamental right to due process and a fair hearing under both the California and United States Constitutions. (Rucker v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2000) 82 Cal.App.4th 151, 157-158 [65 Cal.Comp.Cases 805].) A fair hearing is "... one of `the rudiments of fair play' assured to every litigant..." (Id., at p. 158.) The "essence of due process is simply notice and the opportunity to be heard." (San Bernardino Community Hospital v. Workers. Comp. Appeals Bd. (McKernan) 74 Cal.App.4th 928, 936 (64 Cal. Comp. Cases 986) Determining an issue without giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard violates the parties' rights to due process. (Gangwish v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 1284, 1295 [66 Cal.Comp.Cases 584], citing Rucker, supra, at pp. 157-158.) A fair hearing includes but is not limited to the opportunity to call and cross-examine witnesses; introduce and inspect exhibits; and to offer evidence in rebuttal. (See Gangwish, supra, at p.1295; Rucker, supra, at pp. 157-158, citing Kaiser Co. v. Industrial Acci. Com. (Baskin) (1952) 109 Cal.App.2d 54, 58 [17 Cal.Comp.Cases 21]; Katzin v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1992) 5 Cal.App.4th 703, 710 [57 Cal.Comp.Cases 230].)
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
The WCJ dismissed the case without a hearing, without creating a record, and without issuing an opinion on decision.
From the decision · page 6Here, on February 18, 2022, the WCJ dismissed applicant's case without a hearing, without creating a record, and without issuing an opinion on decision.
The same issues, filtered across the whole corpus — or paste your own facts and let the search rank by factor match.
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.
- The injured worker is not named here, and the case caption is not printed. Physicians appear as the decision names them, because a medical opinion is an act in a public proceeding.
- Issues, outcomes and weights were extracted by AI and released only where the source passage checked. Read the official decision before relying on anything here. Not legal advice.
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