State Compensation Insurance Fund v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

I

Daniel Adame claims to have injured his lower back while working as a carpenter. The applicant and his employer’s workers’ compensation carrier disagreed on whether Adame actually sustained an industrial injury and the nature and extent of his injuries. Before any evidence was taken at the hearing, the parties submitted a handwritten form compromise and release to the workers’ compensation judge for approval. The parties agreed “[a] serious and good faith issue exists [on the issue of industrial injury] which if decided against the applicant would defeat all his rights to benefits . . .,” but did not detail any facts to support this conclusion. The proposed settlement included applicant’s release of the employer’s liability for rehabilitation benefits. Applicant has never disavowed the stipulation and supported the employer’s carrier’s position at oral argument.

Without hearing, the workers’ compensation judge approved the compromise and release, but not the proposed settlement of rehabilitation benefits. State Compensation Insurance Fund, the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier, petitioned the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) for reconsideration. In…