Valle, Maria De Lourdes (Dec)

In this death claim arising from an alleged COVID-19 industrial injury to decedent Maria De Lourdes Valle, defendant Berkshire Hathaway sought removal of a WCJ's May 8, 2024 order finding subpoenaed Kaiser medical records of alleged dependents Guadalupe Soto and Manuel Soto inadmissible at trial. The sole issue submitted was admissibility of these subpoenaed records under Labor Code section 5502(d)(3)'s discovery cutoff. The WCAB panel granted removal, finding the records (Defendant's A, B, and C) were both obtained and disclosed on the pre-trial conference statement prior to the November 9, 2023 MSC, and that applicant's counsel's refusal to cooperate with releases excused any delay in obtaining the records. The Board rescinded the WCJ's order and substituted a finding that the records are admissible, ordering Applicant's 1-8 and Defendant's A-V admitted into evidence. The matter was returned to the trial level for further proceedings on causation.