Roberts

Petitioner David A. R. Roberts (applicant) seeks review of a decision from respondent Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (Board), which held that his request for vocational rehabilitation (hereafter rehabilitation) benefits, made more than five years after the date of his industrial injury, was barred by the statute of limitations under Labor Code section 5410. We conclude that applicant’s request for rehabilitation was an initial request pursuant to Sanchez v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1990) 217 Cal.App.3d 346 [ 266 Cal.Rptr. 21 ], and Youngblood v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (1989) 216 Cal.App.3d 764 [ 265 Cal.Rptr. 211 ]. Accordingly, section 5405.5 is the applicable statute of limitations. We find, therefore, that the request for rehabilitation, made within one year of the order approving the compromise and release of other issues, was timely.

Background

On May 15, 1986, applicant filed an application for adjudication of claim (hereafter application) with the Board, alleging that he sustained an industrial injury to his spine on June 20, 1983, while employed as a laborer by respondent Georgia Pacific Corporation (GPC). Paragraph 9 of the Board-issued application…