What the panel ordered
The Findings and Order issued on October 7, 2021 is rescinded and the matter is returned to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this decision.
Applicant seeks reconsideration of the Findings and Order issued on October 7, 2021, which barred her workers' compensation claim based on res judicata and granted defendant's petition for dismissal.
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 record was inadequate to determine the applicability of res judicata and collateral estoppel defenses because the WCJ denied applicant a hearing on her prima facie claim, violating due process, and the prior civil case did not establish identical issues of injury and causation under workers' compensation law.
From the decision · page 6Accordingly, we will rescind the F&O. We also note that the denial of an opportunity for applicant to establish her prima facie claim resulted in an evidentiary record inadequate for us to determine the applicability of the asserted res judicata/collateral estoppel defense. For example, since there are no findings of injury as to any of the alleged body parts, there is no record of causation of injury which could serve as a basis for the res judicata/collateral estoppel defense. More particularly, applicant's injury claim includes injury to the head and neck which could have resulted from a source of cumulative trauma other than mold exposure. Since there are no findings of injury as to these body parts, there is no basis to conclude that res judicata/collateral estoppel offers a complete defense to applicant's claim. We also note that once applicant establishes her prima facie claim, the question of whether the res judicata/collateral estoppel defense applies must be determined by application of their respective criteria.