Burbank Studios v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

The issue before us on this appeal is whether the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) erred in affirming an order that modified a compromise and release over the objection of the employer. We have concluded that it did.

Facts

The facts pertinent to this appeal are as follows: On or about June 21, 1979, August Yount (Yount or applicant) filed an application for adjudication of claim, alleging an injury on May 11, 1979, to his right arm while employed by Burbank Studios (Burbank Studios or Employer), permissibly self-insured for workers’ compensation benefits.

Yount was hospitalized on July 16, 1979, and surgery for excision of a soft tissue tumor occurred on July 20, 1979. Yount claims the injury occurred when his arm was struck by a cable. Burbank Studios denied any injury arising out of or occurring in the course of Yount’s employment.

After the trial, while the case was submitted for decision, the parties entered into a compromise and release agreement which stipulated that Yount sustained an injury to his right arm, but that there was a bona fide dispute as to the proximate cause of the injury, the duration of disability, and need for further medical…