Link, Darrel

Darrel Link, a 53-year-old aircraft mechanic, fell approximately five feet from scaffolding while working under a jet engine for Northrop Grumman on March 17, 2022, sustaining head and left arm injuries. After initially accepting the claim and paying temporary disability, defendant denied the claim and raised the intoxication defense under Labor Code section 3600(a)(4), arguing applicant's chronic nightly drinking caused his fall. The WCJ found defendant failed to meet its burden of proving intoxication, noting negative toxicology testing, no eyewitness evidence of intoxication, and no medical evidence linking alcohol to the fall. The WCAB majority adopted the WCJ's report and denied reconsideration, holding defendant proved neither that applicant was intoxicated at the time of injury nor that intoxication was a proximate cause. Commissioner Razo dissented, finding defendant met its burden based on applicant's admitted nightly drinking, history of alcohol-related falls, QME observations of impaired gait/cognition, and credibility concerns.