Nakagawa, Daniel

Daniel Nakagawa, a San Francisco firefighter/paramedic, sustained a back injury on November 12, 2013, and received medical treatment and section 4850 salary continuation benefits in 2013-2014. Defendant issued a January 28, 2014 'permanent disability benefits denial' notice citing both Labor Code section 5405 (one year) and section 5410 (five years). Applicant filed his Application for Adjudication on August 2, 2017, and defendant raised a statute of limitations defense under section 5405. The WCJ found defendant failed to meet its burden on the statute of limitations defense, and the Board affirmed, holding that applicant's claim was actually one for new and further disability under section 5410, timely filed within five years of the date of injury. The Board found defendant's notice deficient because it required applicant to reach a legal conclusion about which time limit applied.