Richard, Lynnia

Applicant Lynnia Richard, a greeter/ways finder, sustained an admitted industrial injury on September 6, 2016 to her brain, head, cervical spine, and lumbar spine, with disputed claims to psyche and a functional movement disorder. The WCJ issued a Findings and Award finding that Labor Code section 3208.3(d) barred the psyche claim (employment under six months, no sudden/extraordinary event), that the cervical and lumbar spine had not reached MMI, and that further development of the record was needed on the functional movement disorder, appointing neuropsychiatrist Dr. Charles Furst as a regular physician under section 5701. Defendant filed a Petition for Removal challenging the appointment, the non-MMI finding, and the WCJ's refusal to enforce a procedural stipulation closing discovery. The Appeals Board first addressed a Shipley/section 5909 equitable tolling issue because the case was not transmitted to the Board until nearly a year after the petition was filed, then treated the petition as one for reconsideration (because the decision included a threshold issue) but applied the removal standard since only interlocutory issues were challenged. The Board adopted the WCJ's report and denied the petition, finding no significant prejudice or irreparable harm.