What the panel ordered
The Board rescinded the WCJ's December 6, 2022 Findings and Order and substituted a new order finding injury on August 5, 2014, and that defendant unreasonably denied medical treatment by refusing to authorize treatment with Dr. David Patterson; applicant entitled to designate Dr. Patterson at Casa Colina as primary treating physician.
Applicant sought reconsideration of the WCJ's December 6, 2022 Findings and Order denying denial of medical treatment claim; WCJ's report recommended denial of reconsideration; the Board granted reconsideration to study factual and legal issues further.
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 Board found that defendant's refusal to authorize treatment with Dr. Patterson, a physician employed by Casa Colina listed in the MPN, constituted an unreasonable denial of medical treatment under Labor Code section 4600 and related regulations and precedent cases Rivas and Montiel.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration of the Findings and Order (F&O) issued on December 6, 2022, by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ). The WCJ found that applicant, while employed by defendant, sustained injury arising out of and occurring in the course of employment (AOE/COE)1 to various body parts; and that defendant did not deny medical treatment to applicant.