Harlow, Robert

Applicant Robert Harlow, an electrician who sustained an industrial injury in 1991, sought reconsideration/removal of a WCJ's June 1, 2023 Findings of Fact and Orders granting defendant's petition to transfer his medical care into its Medical Provider Network (MPN) and terminating liability for treatment outside the MPN. Applicant argued the trial should have been continued, defendant lost medical control, the record should have been developed further, the WCJ improperly advocated for defendant, and he had lost confidence in MPN physicians. The Board treated the petition as one for reconsideration and additionally as a petition for disqualification regarding the alleged WCJ advocacy. The Board found that no time limit exists for transferring an injured worker to an MPN, that defendant complied with transfer-of-care requirements under 8 CCR 9767.9 and 9767.12 (and even gave applicant years of extra treatment outside the MPN due to his serious chronic condition), and that citation to supportive legal authority is adjudication, not advocacy. The Board adopted the WCJ's report and denied both the Petition for Reconsideration and the Petition for Disqualification.