What the panel ordered
Findings and Award issued by the WCJ on December 17, 2021, affirmed.
Petition for reconsideration or removal of a prior Findings and Award decision by the WCJ was granted for further review.
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.
QME/AME processDefendant prevailedright index finger
The court found that the defendant's strike on October 4, 2021, was timely because the time to strike is triggered by service of the panel list, not assignment, and the defendant's strike was within the allowed time including the mailbox rule extension.
From the decision · page 2The Applicant was employed for Defendant La Venadita Meat Market Inc. on May 22, 2021 when he sustained an admitted industrial injury to his right index finger. A QME panel was requested by Applicant's attorney on September 20, 2021. The panel was issued on September 21, 2021 and served on Defendant by Applicant's counsel on September 21, 2021. Applicant struck Russell Ellis on September 28, 2021. Defendant struck Joel Bird on October 4. 2021. The remaining QME on the list was Emily Holbrook. The matter proceeded to an Expedited Hearing on November 29, 2021. The issue before this court was whether the Defendant's panel strike was timely.