Delgado, Timothy

Timothy Delgado, a District Attorney Investigator for the County of Ventura, claimed a cumulative trauma psychiatric injury (PTSD) for the period February 12, 2017 through July 15, 2020. The WCJ found the injury compensable under the Labor Code section 3212.15 PTSD presumption for certain peace officers, and the Appeals Board granted reconsideration. Defendant argued the presumption did not apply (because the injury date should be 2018, before the statute's January 1, 2020 effective date), that it had rebutted the presumption, and that the predominant causation standard of section 3208.3 still applied (with only 20% of PTSD attributable to County employment per PQME Dr. Spencer). The Board affirmed the WCJ, holding that the date of cumulative injury under sections 3208.1 and 5412 was July 15, 2020 (when applicant first suffered disability and knew of its industrial nature), that section 3212.15's PTSD presumption does not incorporate the predominant causation requirement of section 3208.3, and that as the more specific statute section 3212.15 controls. Defendant's petition was denied and the Findings of Fact affirmed.