What the panel ordered
The WCAB granted defendant's petition for reconsideration, rescinded the WCJ's Findings and Award, and substituted new Findings of Fact finding that applicant met the presumption under Labor Code section 3212.15, defendant failed to rebut the presumption, and applicant sustained injury to psyche in the form of PTSD. Temporary disability indemnity and further medical treatment were awarded.
Defendant sought reconsideration of the Findings and Award issued by the WCJ on May 21, 2025, which found applicant sustained injury to psyche in the form of PTSD. The WCAB granted reconsideration, rescinded the WCJ's Findings and Award, and issued new Findings of Fact.
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.
Applicant met the presumption under Labor Code section 3212.15, and defendant failed to rebut it with substantial evidence, so the injury to psyche in the form of PTSD is compensable.
From the decision · page 6Here, the plain language of section 3212.15 compels a finding that applicant has sustained a presumptively compensable injury. There is no dispute that applicant is among the classes of employees for whom the presumption of section 3212.15 is available, or that the PTSD arose or manifested during applicant's employment. (Lab. Code § 3212.15, subd. (b), (c).) The medical record establishes a diagnosis of PTSD. (Dr. Egan's QME Report; Dr. Isaac's PTP report, dated January 2, 2024.) Applicant has thus met the burden of proof necessary for the presumption of industrial causation to attach, and the burden of proof now shifts to the defendant to affirmatively controvert the presumption, or we are "bound to find in accordance with [the presumption]." (Lab. Code § 3212.15(c)(2).)