What the panel ordered
Applicant's permanent disability rated at 6% after 50% apportionment to preexisting condition under the new PDRS effective January 1, 2005; costs for vocational expert Ann Wallace's testimony allowed with jurisdiction reserved for adjustment; liens disallowed for non-industrial neck disability.
Appeals Board granted reconsideration and assigned case for en banc decision to address important legal issues regarding the new permanent disability rating schedule (PDRS) under Labor Code section 4660.
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 Appeals Board held that the applicant did not meet the burden of proving the new PDRS invalid and that the new PDRS allows rebuttal evidence and costs for such evidence may be allowable.
From the decision · page 118 For the reasons discussed below, we hold that on the record before us the applicant has not
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant's injury was rated under the new PDRS effective January 1, 2005.