Vazquez, Citlalli

Applicant Citlalli Vazquez, a janitor who slipped and fell on June 17, 2019, sought reconsideration of a WCJ's May 22, 2023 order dismissing her claim without prejudice for failure to prosecute under WCAB Rule 10550. Applicant contended she never received notice of the dismissal proceedings because, shortly after her May 2021 PQME evaluation, she was hospitalized due to domestic violence and subsequently became homeless, losing contact with her attorney Vincent Quigg (who was later disbarred). The Board concluded that applicant's petition was, in substance, a request to set aside the dismissal order rather than a true petition for reconsideration. Finding it lacked a sufficient record to resolve the due process, CCP 473/Labor Code 5506, and petition-to-reopen issues, the Board dismissed the petition and returned the matter to the trial level. On remand, the WCJ was instructed to treat the petition as one to set aside, set a hearing on applicant's allegations, and treat her amended Application as a timely-filed petition to reopen under section 5804.