Wu, Mingming

Applicant Mingming Wu, a substitute teacher, claimed an industrial injury on April 16, 2019 and filed a DWC-1 claim form with her employer. The self-insured employer accepted liability for medical treatment and authorized care with specific providers, though no medical care was actually provided and no payments were made. The employer twice sent letters (September 19, 2019 and June 23, 2020) advising applicant she had five years from injury or one year from last benefit to file with the WCAB. Applicant filed her Application for Adjudication on June 30, 2021. The WCJ found the claim was not barred by the statute of limitations, and the Board denied defendant's Petition for Reconsideration, holding the five-year statute of Labor Code section 5410 applied because defendant's acceptance and authorization suggested filing was unnecessary, and alternatively that defendant was estopped by its own notices.