Stephens Leon, Tammy

Applicant Tammy Stephens Leon claimed industrial injury to her left shoulder, elbow, neck, arm, hand, and back on August 18, 2017, while working for Vista Unified School District. She filed a DWC-1 claim form on September 18, 2017, but defendant did not deny the claim until January 8, 2018—112 days later—based on a pending QME evaluation. The WCJ found the injury presumptively compensable under Labor Code section 5402(b) and excluded the QME's reporting because the delay letter used to obtain the QME panel was not in evidence. On reconsideration, the Board affirmed the presumption of compensability but struck the finding excluding the QME report, holding that substantial justice warranted admitting the delay letter into evidence. The Board nonetheless held this error was harmless because defendant presented no evidence that it could not have obtained the QME opinion within the 90-day period, so the QME report could not rebut the presumption.