Gonzalez Lopez, Raul Alejandro

Cost petitioner Med-Legal, LLC sought reconsideration of a WCJ's Findings and Order that denied reimbursement for copy/subpoena services on the grounds that there was no issue in dispute when the services were provided, the services were not med-legal services, and they were not reasonable. The applicant claimed a right knee and right ankle injury while working as a machine operator; defendant accepted the injury but on December 13, 2016 terminated temporary disability and denied permanent disability benefits based on a single Kaiser discharge note. The case in chief was resolved by a $10,000 Compromise and Release approved on a walkthrough in February 2018. The WCAB rescinded the F&O, finding the WCJ applied the wrong legal standard, and held that under Colamonico the threshold inquiry is whether a contested claim existed when the first SDT was issued—which it unequivocally was on January 23, 2017, following defendant's benefit-termination notices. The Board substituted a new Finding that Med-Legal met its burden under section 4620 and deferred all remaining issues, returning the matter to the trial level.