Hodgman

A guardian ad litem and conservator of an incompetent injured worker seeks to compel the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB or Board) to vacate its opinion determining the guardian was entitled to be compensated by the worker’s employer for the care she gave the worker pursuant to Labor Code section 4600 only if she were not compensated for such care out of the conservatorship estate and the care were not duplicative or capable of being duplicated by a professional such as a licensed vocational nurse.

We conclude the Board has no basis for restricting compensation to nonduplicative care because the parties agreed in a compromise and release agreement (C&R) that the guardian was entitled to compensation for duplicative care and the employer, not the estate of the injured worker, should bear the expense.

BACKGROUND

On October 28, 1988, John Perry Hodgman (John) sustained a catastrophic industrial injury in a motorcycle-versus-automobile collision while employed by Community Care Center. Hospitalized and in a coma for an extended period, he underwent multiple surgeries, including implantation of permanent ventricular peritoneal shunts within the brain in order to…