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 and WCAB found no substantial evidence of employer negligence, concluding the accident was not foreseeable or preventable by the employer, thus defendant was entitled to full credit for the third party recovery.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration of the February 28, 2022 Findings and Order (F&O), wherein the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) found that applicant, while employed as a landscaper on November 6, 2018, sustained industrial injury to his chest, back, left elbow, left wrist, left shoulder, and neck. The WCJ found that there was no negligence on the part of the employer and granted defendant credit in the net amount of applicant's recovery from a civil lawsuit arising out of the industrial injury.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant was driving at an unsafe speed and failed to observe a vehicle stopped in his lane, causing the accident.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This fact established the proximate cause of the accident was applicant's unsafe driving, not employer negligence.
From the decision · page 2