What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration dismissed as unverified, skeletal, and for failure to describe statutory grounds for reconsideration.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by lien claimant California Physician Network and its lien representative Dennise Mejia seeking reconsideration of the April 30, 2025 Findings and Order awarding attorney's fees to defendant State Compensation Insurance Fund.
This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold October 13, 2023.
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 petition was unverified, skeletal, and failed to describe statutory grounds for reconsideration, warranting dismissal.
From the decision · page 5Accordingly, we dismiss the Petition as unverified, skeletal, and for failure to describe the statutory grounds for reconsideration. We further note that even if the petition was verified and
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Petition for Reconsideration was unverified and no verification was filed after notice of defect.
Favours Defendant prevailed
The lack of verification is a procedural defect requiring dismissal under Labor Code section 5902 and WCAB Rule 10940(c).
From the decision · page 5Here, the Petition for Reconsideration is not verified and notice of this defect was specifically given in the WCJ's Report. (Report, at pp. 1, 6.) Moreover, a reasonable period of time has elapsed, but petitioner has neither cured the defect by filing a verification nor offered an explanation of why a verification cannot be filed.
Petition failed to cite any statutory grounds for reconsideration under Labor Code section 5903.
Favours Defendant prevailed
Without statutory grounds, the petition cannot proceed and must be dismissed.
From the decision · page 5In addition, section 5903 specifies the grounds upon which a petition for reconsideration may be based, including "(a) [t]hat by the order, decision, or award made and filed by the appeals board or the workers' compensation judge, the appeals board acted without or in excess of its powers; (b) [t]hat the order, decision, or award was procured by fraud; (c) [t]hat the evidence does not justify the findings of fact; (d) [t]hat the petitioner has discovered new evidence material to him or her, which he or she could not, with reasonable diligence, have discovered and produced at the hearing; or (e) [t]hat the findings of fact do not support the order, decision, or award." (Lab. Code, § 5903.) Here, however, lien claimant's petition cites none of the exclusive grounds for reconsideration referenced in section 5903.
Petition was skeletal and failed to make specific references to the evidentiary record or law.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This failure undermines the petition's validity and supports dismissal under WCAB Rule 10972.
From the decision · page 5In addition, WCAB Rule 10972 (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10972) provides that "[a] petition for reconsideration, removal or disqualification may be denied or dismissed if it is unsupported by specific references to the record and to the principles of law involved." Here, lien claimant's petition offers unspecified allegations without reference to the evidentiary record. The petition offers no substantive discussion of the bill of particulars or the testimony of the sole witness at trial, as expressly relied upon by the WCJ in determining reasonable attorney's fees. Accordingly, lien claimant's petition is skeletal insofar as it fails to describe valid grounds challenging the F&O and fails to make specific reference to the record.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
WCAB Rule 10972
Petition may be dismissed if unsupported by specific references to the record and law (WCAB Rule 10972).
The petition was skeletal and failed to make specific references to the record.
From the decision · page 5In addition, WCAB Rule 10972 (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10972) provides that "[a] petition for reconsideration, removal or disqualification may be denied or dismissed if it is unsupported by specific references to the record and to the principles of law involved." Here, lien claimant's petition offers unspecified allegations without reference to the evidentiary record. The petition offers no substantive discussion of the bill of particulars or the testimony of the sole witness at trial, as expressly relied upon by the WCJ in determining reasonable attorney's fees. Accordingly, lien claimant's petition is skeletal insofar as it fails to describe valid grounds challenging the F&O and fails to make specific reference to the record.
Labor Code section 5902
Petition for Reconsideration must be verified (Labor Code section 5902).
The petition was unverified and subject to dismissal.
From the decision · page 4Section 5902 requires that a petition for reconsideration be verified. (Lab. Code, § 5902; see also Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10510(d).) Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) Rule 10940(c) further provides:
Labor Code section 5903
Grounds for reconsideration are limited to those in Labor Code section 5903.
The petition did not cite any statutory grounds for reconsideration.
From the decision · page 5In addition, section 5903 specifies the grounds upon which a petition for reconsideration may be based, including "(a) [t]hat by the order, decision, or award made and filed by the appeals board or the workers' compensation judge, the appeals board acted without or in excess of its powers; (b) [t]hat the order, decision, or award was procured by fraud; (c) [t]hat the evidence does not justify the findings of fact; (d) [t]hat the petitioner has discovered new evidence material to him or her, which he or she could not, with reasonable diligence, have discovered and produced at the hearing; or (e) [t]hat the findings of fact do not support the order, decision, or award." (Lab. Code, § 5903.) Here, however, lien claimant's petition cites none of the exclusive grounds for reconsideration referenced in section 5903.
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Petition for Reconsideration was unverified and skeletal, lacking statutory grounds and specific references to the record.
From the decision · page 5In addition, WCAB Rule 10972 (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10972) provides that "[a] petition for reconsideration, removal or disqualification may be denied or dismissed if it is unsupported by specific references to the record and to the principles of law involved." Here, lien claimant's petition offers unspecified allegations without reference to the evidentiary record. The petition offers no substantive discussion of the bill of particulars or the testimony of the sole witness at trial, as expressly relied upon by the WCJ in determining reasonable attorney's fees. Accordingly, lien claimant's petition is skeletal insofar as it fails to describe valid grounds challenging the F&O and fails to make specific reference to the record.
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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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