Martin, Vivian

Vivian Martin, a legal secretary, sustained an April 8, 2008 industrial injury to her cervical spine, lumbar spine, right shoulder, and psyche, with claimed GI/sleep disorder injury. The WCJ found permanent total disability (100%) after determining the QMEs' ratings constituted substantial evidence under Guzman and that applicant rebutted the Combined Values Chart, allowing impairments to be added (Kite) rather than combined. Defendant sought reconsideration, challenging the Guzman analogy, the psychiatric QME's CVC rebuttal opinion, staleness of the reports, the medical specialty addressing CVC rebuttal, the addition of internal impairments, and citing Fitzpatrick as precluding rebuttal. The Board granted reconsideration, upholding Dr. Ryan's Guzman analogy for the right shoulder but finding that the WCJ improperly added the psychiatric impairment to internal impairments never addressed by psychologist Dr. Price, and that Dr. Price's 2017 opinion was no longer substantial evidence because applicant's ADLs had changed and an internal evaluation (Dr. Raphael, 2021) was never reviewed. The Board rescinded the F&A and remanded for further development of the record.