Brabo, Matthew (Dec.)

Decedent Mathew Brabo, a CAL FIRE firefighter and member of Bargaining Unit 8 of CalPERS, died on February 1, 2022; his dependents settled their claim via Stipulations with an Award issued December 14, 2022, receiving no most death benefits because they received the CalPERS Special Death Benefit under former Labor Code section 4707(a). Effective January 1, 2024, section 4707 was amended to add subdivision (c), which exempts certain firefighters from the section 4707(a) limitation and applies retroactively to January 1, 2019, for injuries not previously claimed or resolved. The WCJ dismissed applicants' petition to reopen, holding the amendment did not apply because the claim was resolved before January 1, 2024. The Board granted reconsideration, finding that regardless of how the ambiguous retroactivity clause is interpreted, applicants are entitled to amend their award via sections 5803 and 5804, because a change in law constitutes good cause to reopen and the petition was timely filed within five years of the date of injury. The Board rescinded the F&O and substituted findings that the dependents are entitled to further benefits under section 4707, deferring the calculation to the trial level.