Villarruel De Mundo, Claudia

Applicant worked as an assembler for Display Products, Inc. from August 17, 2012 to September 22, 2017 during which time four carriers provided coverage. The AME, Dr. Berman, concluded applicant sustained a single continuous cumulative trauma ending 9/22/2017 affecting the cervical spine, left shoulder, and to a lesser extent the right shoulder. The WCJ issued a Joint F&A finding the Labor Code section 5412 date of injury to be 8/17/2012 to 9/22/2017 and held Compwest and Zenith liable under section 5500.5. On reconsideration, the Board held the WCJ conflated the period of cumulative exposure with the section 5412 date of injury, which requires separate factual findings on when disability first occurred and when applicant knew or should have known it was industrially caused. The Board rescinded the F&A, substituted a finding of cumulative injury during the period up to 9/22/2017, and deferred the section 5412 date of injury, the section 5500.5 period of liability, and all other issues, returning the matter to the trial level for further development.