State Compensation Insurance Fund v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Respondent James Dorsett sustained a specific injury to his cervical spine on March 21, 2000, while working for South Valley Glass, Inc. (South Valley Glass), and a cumulative trauma injury to his cervical spine between November 15, 2002, and June 8, 2004, while working for A-Tek Glass, Inc. (A-Tek). Both employers were insured for purposes of workers’ compensation by petitioner State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF). Dorsett filed separate applications to obtain workers’ compensation for his injuries. The workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) determined, based in part on the opinion of an agreed medical evaluator (AME), that Dorsett sustained an “overall combined permanent disability [of] 100 percent,” that “there is only one injury,” and that “there can be no apportionment under Benson.” 1 SCIF filed separate petitions for reconsideration on behalf of South Valley Glass and A-Tek. The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (the Board) denied reconsideration.

In its timely petition for writ of review filed in this court, SCIF contends that the Board erred “when—despite the clear statutory command of Labor Code § 4663 and § 4664, and the decision in Benson . . . , which…