Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Lab. Code, §§ 5900(a), 5903; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, §§ 10600, 10605(a), 10940(a), 10615(b)
Petition for reconsideration must be filed within 25 days of a final decision, extended if the last day falls on a holiday or weekend.
Applicant's petition filed on December 28, 2020, was timely as the 25th day was a holiday and filing was on the next business day.
From the decision · page 2We next address the issue of timeliness. There are 25 days allowed within which to file a
petition for reconsideration from a "final" decision that has been served by mail upon an address
in California. (Lab. Code, § 5900(a), 5903; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10605(a)(1).) This time
limit is extended to the next business day if the last day for filing falls on a weekend or holiday.
(Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10600.) To be timely, however, a petition for reconsideration must be
filed with (i.e., received by) the WCAB within the time allowed; proof that the petition was mailed
(posted) within that period is insufficient. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10940(a), 10615(b).) In this
case, the WCJ's decision was issued on November 30, 2020. The 25th day following issuance of
the WCJ's decision was Friday, December 25, 2020, Christmas Day, which is a holiday observed
by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Therefore, based on the authority cited above,
applicant's petition filed on Monday, December 28, 2020 is timely.
Almaraz v. State Comp. Ins. Fund and Guzman v. Milpitas Unified School Dist. (2009) 74 Cal.Comp.Cases 1084 (Appeals Board en banc)
Permanent disability rating may be based on AMA Guides and Almaraz-Guzman II analysis with justification for deviation from standard rating.
The AME's alternative rating using Almaraz-Guzman II analysis was accepted as substantial medical evidence.
From the decision · page 13The AME provides an alternative rating based on an "Almaraz-Guzman II analysis" at page
3 of the 12-26-2012 report. In Almaraz v. State Comp. Ins. Fund and Guzman v. Milpitas Unified
School Dist. (2009) 74 Cal.Comp.Cases 1084 (Appeals Board en banc), (Almaraz/Guzman II), the
Appeals Board held that the permanent impairment aspect of the rating may be rebutted by use of
other aspects of the AMA Guides than that most directly applicable. Guzman was upheld by the
Court of Appeal, sub nom. Milpitas Unified School Dist. v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2010)
Lab. Code, § 4653
Temporary total disability rate is two-thirds of average weekly earnings, considering ability to compete in open labor market.
Lab. Code, § 4600
Reasonable medical treatment is required for injured workers.
The AME opined that applicant is entitled to reasonable future medical treatment.
From the decision · page 14The AME provides that applicant should be entitled to reasonable medical treatment. (Id.
at 4.)
Lab. Code, § 4600
Liens for attorney fees and medical expenses may be withheld from awards as appropriate.
Liens for attorney fees and medical expenses were recognized and ordered withheld from applicant's award.