Fill, Michael

Applicant Michael Fill, a firefighter for the City of Fullerton, sustained various industrial injuries including skin cancer, with a 2016 Stipulated Award providing future medical care for skin cancer without limiting language. In 2019, when his treating physician requested authorization to excise a malignant melanoma on his mid-back, the self-insured defendant neither authorized treatment nor sent the RFA to Utilization Review, instead instructing the doctor to treat on a non-industrial basis pending clarification, causing an approximately 80-day delay. The WCJ found this delay unreasonable under Labor Code section 5814 and initially awarded a $10,000 penalty plus attorney fees under section 5814.5. On reconsideration, the WCJ's Report recommended reducing the penalty to $3,853.12, calculated as 25% of the amount actually paid for treatment ($15,412.46) rather than 25% of the amount billed ($48,460.20). The Appeals Board adopted and incorporated the Report, affirming the F&A but amending the penalty to $3,853.12.