What the panel ordered
Defendant's Petition for Reconsideration of the August 13, 2024 decision is dismissed.
Defendant sought reconsideration of the August 13, 2024 Appeals Board decision that rescinded the May 28, 2024 WCJ Findings and Award and returned the matter to trial level for further proceedings. The Appeals Board dismissed the defendant's petition for reconsideration.
This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold August 13, 2024.
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.
No doctor provided a clear causation opinion for lumbar spine injury. The QME's equivocal testimony requires further development for credibility determinations. The record is insufficient to determine industrial injury to lumbar spine.
From the decision · page 11Next, the parties dispute whether applicant's injury to the low back was industrial. No doctor has provided a clear opinion explaining causation to the low back. At one point, the QME concludes that there is no way to answer that question. The QME failed to adequately explain how and why he was incapable of answering the question. It further appears that the QME failed to consider the proper legal standard of causation in workers' compensation, which is contributory causation. The September 13, 2022 injury need not be the sole cause of injury to the low back. It is sufficient if the September 13, 2022 injury aggravated or exacerbated prior injury to the low back.