Mejia, Rudy

Rudy Mejia worked as a pasteurizer/blender for Whitewave Foods from June 2006 to May 2017 and was later diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, dying on September 16, 2020. The WCJ found that the decedent sustained industrial injury AOE/COE on a CT basis in the forms of Parkinson's disease, orthostatic hypotension, and dysarthria, and that his death was industrial and compensable, relying on the internal medicine PQME (Dr. Sedgh). Defendant sought reconsideration, arguing Dr. Sedgh's opinions did not constitute substantial medical evidence (challenging exposure to Trichloroethylene and reliance on dated literature) and—for the first time on reconsideration—that internal medicine was not the appropriate specialty. The WCAB denied reconsideration, finding Dr. Sedgh's opinions were substantial medical evidence based on examination, accurate history, and reasoning framed in reasonable medical probability, and that defendant had itself requested an internal medicine panel and relied on Dr. Tan's internal medicine report. The Board characterized the late specialty argument as troublesome and borderline bad faith.