Benson

Diane Benson (Benson) seeks review of the en banc opinion and decision after reconsideration of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (Board) that granted her a total of $49,210, in two separate awards, based on a determination that two industrial injuries to her neck each caused 31 percent permanent disability. Benson contends she is entitled to a single award of $67,016.25 because she suffers a combined permanent disability from both injuries of 62 percent. Having previously granted Benson’s petition for a writ of review, we now affirm the decision of the Board.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Benson began work as a file clerk for respondent The Permanente Medical Group (Permanente) in April 1992. Benson’s job required her to stand essentially all day, except for some brief periods of sitting, and it required repetitive neck and upper extremity motion. On June 3, 2003, she sustained an injury to her neck while reaching up over her head and pulling out a plastic bin to file a chart, at which point she felt a pain in her neck. The next day, she went to work, but her neck hurt even more. She was initially diagnosed with neck strain and put on light duty. On July…