What the panel ordered
The Petition for Reconsideration is denied, and the Findings and Order Re: Medical Treatment dated August 9, 2024, is affirmed.
Defendant filed a petition for reconsideration of the August 9, 2024 Findings and Order Re: Medical Treatment, which was denied by the WCAB panel decision on November 18, 2024.
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 WCAB applied the Patterson doctrine holding that the discontinuation of caregiving services was a termination contrary to Patterson, and that the defendant must prove a change in circumstances to cease services. The petition for reconsideration was denied because no such change was shown.
From the decision · page 13Based on the foregoing, a Findings and Award Re: Medical Treatment was issued on August 9, 2024 and served on interested parties on August 12, 2024. That decision found that the reasoning in the Patterson significant panel decision (Patterson v. The Oaks Farm (2014) 79 Cal. Comp. Cases 910), applies to applicant's previously authorized assistance in the home, that the discontinuation of caregiving services in this case was a termination of services contrary to Patterson, that the caregiving services in this case are not subject to the UR process until a change in circumstances showing that the services are no longer reasonably required, and that it is defendant's, not applicant's, burden to prove such a change of circumstances, consistent with Patterson. The decision included an order that defendants reinstate and continue to provide to Ms.