What the panel ordered
Petition for reconsideration dismissed as not from a final order; petition for removal granted to amend the F&O to provide for an additional QME panel in neurology; F&O otherwise affirmed.
Applicant petitioned for reconsideration and removal of the WCJ's January 19, 2021 Findings and Orders denying a replacement orthopedic QME panel and an additional neurology QME panel; the Board reviewed the record and WCJ's report.
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 cause of applicant's stroke is a medical determination that must be evaluated by a medical expert, and the parties cannot return to the orthopedic QME for this issue; thus, good cause exists for an additional QME panel in neurology.
From the decision · page 5The parties cannot return to the orthopedic QME to address the issue of causation for applicant's stroke. We therefore agree with applicant that an additional QME panel in neurology is necessary to evaluate causation for her stroke. (See also McClune v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1998) 62 Cal.App.4th 1117, 1121-1122 [63 Cal.Comp.Cases 261]; Tyler v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 389, 394 [62 Cal.Comp.Cases 924]; Lab. Code, § 5701, 5906 [the Appeals Board has the discretionary authority to develop the record when the medical record is not substantial evidence or when appropriate to provide due process or fully adjudicate the issues].)