Perez, Evelyn

Applicant Evelyn Perez, a registered nurse, claimed cumulative trauma injury to her cervical/lumbar spine, bilateral shoulders, wrists, and feet during employment from September 1, 2011 through May 18, 2018. The WCJ found the Labor Code section 5412 date of injury was June 18, 2019 (her retirement date) and that her claim was time-barred under section 5405. The Appeals Board granted reconsideration, finding the June 18, 2019 date unsupported because applicant was disabled from work due to a non-orthopedic gastrointestinal condition, not her orthopedic injuries, and there was no evidence she was taken off work or restricted on an orthopedic basis until later. The Board determined applicant first knew of her cumulative orthopedic injury and resulting disability on May 24, 2022, the date of Dr. Mooney's PTP report. Because applicant filed her claim on May 4, 2022—before the section 5412 date of injury—the claim was timely under section 5405. The Board rescinded the F&O, substituted new findings, and returned the matter to the trial level.