Williams v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

In this appeal we interpret section 5402 of the Labor Code, which provides in pertinent part: “If liability is not rejected within 90 days after the date the claim form is filed under Section 5401, the injury shall be presumed compensable under this division. The presumption is rebuttable only by evidence discovered subsequent to the 90-day period.” We are concerned here with the effect of this statute on an employer who accepts an employee’s claim and provides benefits within the initial 90-day period but later, after almost two years of providing benefits, denies liability. The workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) applied the section 5402 presumption of compensability to respondent and excluded the testimony of its defense witnesses. The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) found that the presumption of a compensable injury did not apply because respondent initially accepted the claim and furnished benefits in “good faith.” In our view the WCAB misinterpreted section 5402; we therefore annul the judgment.

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Melissa Williams began her law enforcement career with the City of Long Beach in 1978. After 10 years on the force, she relocated to the Central Coast of…