Mendoza, Demetrio

Demetrio Mendoza, a Los Angeles police officer, sustained an admitted continuous trauma injury to his back (June 4, 1996 through June 15, 2020) and had a prior 2007 lumbar injury that resulted in an 18% permanent disability award. The arbitrator awarded 45% permanent disability with no apportionment, finding that the anti-attribution clause in Labor Code section 4663(e) precludes apportionment under section 4664(b) in presumptive injury cases involving the duty-belt presumption under section 3213.2. The arbitrator alternatively held that defendant failed to meet its burden of proving overlap because the AME reports were not substantial evidence and the supplemental report/interrogatory were inadmissible due to a discovery cutoff at mediation. Defendant sought reconsideration, arguing the arbitrator erred in disallowing apportionment under section 4664(b). The Appeals Board adopted and incorporated the arbitrator's Report and denied reconsideration, also addressing the timeliness of its decision under amended section 5909.