What the panel ordered
Petition for removal granted; December 12, 2023 F&O rescinded; replacement panel of QMEs ordered; July 22, 2023 QME report stricken from evidence.
Defendant petitioned for removal of the December 12, 2023 WCJ Findings of Fact and Order denying replacement of the QME due to alleged impermissible ex parte contact by applicant.
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 applicant's email to the QME constituted impermissible ex parte contact under Labor Code section 4062.3, requiring replacement of the QME panel to preserve impartiality and the appearance thereof. The WCAB rejected the applicant's argument that the QME did not actually receive or review the email, emphasizing that prejudice need not be shown and the appearance of impartiality is crucial.
From the decision · page 2(Minutes of Hearing, dated December 4, 2023, at p. 2:12.) The parties proceeded to trial on December 4, 2023 and framed for decision the sole issue
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.