What the panel ordered
Defendant's Petition for Reconsideration is denied.
Defendant seeks reconsideration of the WCJ's Findings of Fact, Award and Orders of December 8, 2021.
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 found that hypertensive heart disease was caused by both a specific injury and a cumulative injury, both entitled to presumptions under Labor Code sections 3212.2 and 3212.10, and that apportionment was prohibited by Labor Code section 4663(e). Defendant did not rebut the presumption, so the joint award of 75% permanent disability was upheld.
From the decision · page 1Defendant seeks reconsideration of a workers' compensation administrative law judge's (WCJ) Findings of Fact, Award and Orders of December 8, 2021, wherein it was found that while employed as a correctional officer on October 27, 2017 in case ADJ11104322, applicant sustained industrial injury to his head, shoulders, brain, neck, torso, psyche, right knee, back, and in the forms of hearing loss and hypertensive heart disease with diastolic dysfunction. It was also found that, while employed during a cumulative period ending October 27, 2017 in case ADJ15506434, applicant sustained industrial injury in the forms of hypertensive heart disease with diastolic dysfunction and coronary artery disease. Because applicant's hypertensive heart disease permanent disability was caused by both injuries, and hypertensive heart disease was found to constitute presumptive "heart trouble" pursuant to Labor Code sections 3212.2 and 3212.10, the WCJ applied Labor Code section 4663(e) and rated both injuries jointly, issuing a joint award of 75% permanent disability.