Fireboard Paper Products Corporation v. Industrial Accident Commission

Applicant Morales suffered four injuries to his back in the course of his employment with petitioner. A referee awarded compensation. A panel of the commission, however, reformulated the factors of permanent disability and obtained a disability rating from its permanent disability rating bureau, which it served on the parties. It then revised the referee's apportionment of disability among the four injuries. The panel granted petitioner’s request for a hearing to cross-examine the rating expert and present evidence rebut *846 ting his recommendation and assigned the matter to a referee. The referee, however, not only permitted cross-examination and rebuttal evidence, but admitted a medical report submitted by petitioner on the extent of applicant’s disability. He also permitted applicant to testify in rebuttal to that report. The case was then again submitted for decision. The referee returned the record to the panel for its decision.

In its decision awarding compensation the panel stated that it gave “no consideration to the medical report of Elton G-. Welke dated July 10, 1961, since it was submitted subsequent to the submission of this case at the hearing held for the sole…