Franklin, Seth

Applicant Seth Franklin, a Redlands police officer, claimed industrial melanoma during a cumulative period and sought the Labor Code section 3212.1 cancer presumption. The WCJ found applicant was not entitled to the presumption because his melanoma (in the form of a misshapen freckle) first manifested between 2014 and 2016, before his employment began in 2018, and alternatively found any presumption rebutted by AME Dr. Green based on the latency period. The Appeals Board granted reconsideration, holding the WCJ erred because section 3212.1 does not require that cancer first develop or first manifest during service—applicant's condition continued to develop and clearly manifested as detectable melanoma during his 2019-2022 employment. The Board took judicial notice that solar/UV radiation is an IARC Group 1 known carcinogen, satisfying that element. The Board amended the decision to find the presumption applies and remanded for further development of the record on rebuttal.