What the panel ordered
December 14, 2020 Findings and Order affirmed; SIBTF ordered to pay proceeds into special needs trust per applicant's request.
Defendant SIBTF petitioned for reconsideration of a WCJ order finding authority to direct SIBTF to pay proceeds of a stipulation into a special needs trust; WCAB granted reconsideration and now affirms the WCJ's order.
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 and WCAB have authority under the Labor Code to direct SIBTF proceeds to a special needs trust for the applicant's benefit, and there is no statutory bar to such an order even if the applicant is not incompetent or a minor.
From the decision · page 4This matter was tried on the sole issue of whether the WCJ or WCAB has the power to order the SIBTF to pay the proceeds of a stipulation into a special needs trust pursuant to the applicant's request. An F&O issued finding that a Workers' Compensation Judge possessed the requisite authority and SIBTF was ordered to disburse the proceeds of the stipulation into the CPT Institute Special Needs Trust. The court erroneously indicated in the F&O that the parties had previously settled the SIBTF case. However, the proposed Stipulations had not yet been executed by the parties.