What the panel ordered
Reconsideration granted; November 1, 2021 Findings of Fact affirmed as amended to correct the last day of cumulative trauma to July 3, 2012.
Petition for reconsideration of November 1, 2021 Findings of Fact, following trial on injury AOE/COE and liability period for cumulative trauma; WCAB granted reconsideration, amended the WCJ's decision as recommended, and otherwise affirmed.
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 last year of injurious occupational exposure was the year ending July 3, 2012, based on Dr. Baum's substantial medical opinion and the statutory scheme; the section 5412 date of injury is after the last day of exposure, so liability is limited to the year ending July 3, 2012.
From the decision · page 2Nevertheless, liability for cumulative trauma is limited to the last year "immediately preceding" either the section 5412 date of injury "or" the last date of occupational exposure, "whichever occurs first." (Lab. Code, § 5500.5.) In this case, we agree with the WCJ that pursuant to Dr. Baum's substantial opinion, the last year of injurious occupational exposure was the year ending on July 3, 2012.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant's last day of injurious occupational exposure at CBCC was July 3, 2012.
Favours Applicant prevailed
Established the end of the liability period for cumulative trauma under Labor Code § 5500.5.
From the decision · page 4FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Mericela the applicant (Applicant) was thirty-five (35) years old and employed as a Radiology Technician at Bakersfield, California by Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center (Employer), during the period ending on July 3, 2012, wherein she sustained injury arising out of and in the course of her employment in the form of an intracranial meningioma.
Dr. Baum's medical opinion that exposure at CBCC contributed to applicant's cranial tumors and disability.
Favours Applicant prevailed
Provided substantial evidence for finding liability for cumulative trauma ending July 3, 2012.
From the decision · page 6Still, the responsibility for meningioma-related disability in this case lies with CBCC, i.e., the employer responsible for the last year of injurious exposure. (Defendant's Ex. A Page 17, OOD Pages 2 - 3)
What the panel did with the medical opinions
The role the physician served, and the weight the opinion carried. Physicians are named here as the decision names them; we do not score them.
Applicant's exposure to ionizing radiation at CBCC contributed to the development of her cranial tumors; responsibility for meningioma-related disability lies with CBCC, the employer responsible for the last year of injurious exposure.
Dr. Baum's opinion was relied upon to determine the period of injurious exposure and employer liability for cumulative trauma.
From the decision · page 6Still, the responsibility for meningioma-related disability in this case lies with CBCC, i.e., the employer responsible for the last year of injurious exposure. (Defendant's Ex. A Page 17, OOD Pages 2 - 3)
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code § 5500.5
Liability for cumulative trauma is limited to the last year of injurious exposure immediately preceding either the section 5412 date of injury or the last date of occupational exposure, whichever occurs first.
Applied to determine that the year of liability was July 4, 2011 to July 3, 2012, as the last year of injurious exposure.
From the decision · page 2Nevertheless, liability for cumulative trauma is limited to the last year "immediately preceding" either the section 5412 date of injury "or" the last date of occupational exposure, "whichever occurs first." (Lab. Code, § 5500.5.) In this case, we agree with the WCJ that pursuant to Dr. Baum's substantial opinion, the last year of injurious occupational exposure was the year ending on July 3, 2012.
Labor Code § 5412
The date of injury for cumulative trauma claims is the date the employee first suffers disability and knows or should know it is work-related.
Applied to determine that the section 5412 date of injury was after the last day of exposure, so liability period is determined by last day of exposure.
From the decision · page 1The date of injury for cumulative trauma claims "is that date upon which the employee first suffered disability therefrom and either knew, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that such disability was caused by his present or prior employment." (Lab. Code,1 § 5412.) In turn, liability for a cumulative injury is determined under section 5500.5, which states in relevant part:
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Dr. Baum's expert medical opinion that applicant's exposure to ionizing radiation at CBCC contributed to her cranial tumors and disability.
From the decision · page 6Still, the responsibility for meningioma-related disability in this case lies with CBCC, i.e., the employer responsible for the last year of injurious exposure. (Defendant's Ex. A Page 17, OOD Pages 2 - 3)
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About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
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