What the panel ordered
The October 15, 2020 Findings of Fact and Orders are rescinded and the matter is returned to the trial level for further development of the record consistent with the Opinion After Reconsideration.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by applicant challenging the October 15, 2020 Findings of Fact and Orders by the WCJ, which found Dr. Sisto's September 30, 2019 medical report inadmissible and denied entitlement to a Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit (SJDB) voucher.
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 the applicant has the right to post-settlement discovery to establish entitlement to a SJDB voucher and that the medical report by Dr. Sisto was deficient and must be further developed to cure defects.
From the decision · page 5We disagree. Section 5000 states that "nothing in this division shall: (a) [i]mpair the right of the parties interested to compromise, subject to the provisions herein contained, any liability which is claimed to exist under this division on account of injury or death." (§ 5000, subd. (a).) Forcing applicant to wait until a maximum medically improved medical report issues before she can settle her claim, lest she forego her right to a SJDB voucher, impairs her right to compromise her claim in violation of section 5000. Furthermore, prohibiting her from engaging in discovery post-settlement to prove her entitlement to a SJDB voucher in effect abrogates her right to this benefit. Applicant is not claiming permanent disability indemnity, which has been settled, but she should be allowed to conduct discovery to prove permanent partial disability for purposes of establishing her entitlement to a SJDB voucher.