Robertson, Damon

Firefighter Damon Robertson sustained an admitted industrial low back injury on August 14, 2017, working for the permissibly self-insured City and County of San Francisco. The City accepted the claim and paid benefits, including salary and authorized medical treatment, but issued a Notice of Denial of Permanent Disability Benefits on April 3, 2018, after the treating physician released him with no disability and no need for treatment. Robertson later underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery in Germany in March 2019 and filed his Application on October 14, 2019—within five years of injury but more than one year after benefits ended. The arbitrator held that, because the City voluntarily furnished benefits, the one-year statute under Labor Code 5405 was tolled and the five-year statute under section 5410 applied, making the claim timely. The WCAB granted reconsideration to study the issues and then affirmed the arbitrator's Findings, Order and Award, adopting the arbitrator's report.