Godfrey, Joseph Mark

Applicant Joseph Mark Godfrey, a ranch hand, alleged cumulative trauma injury to his cervical spine, lumbar spine, and bilateral shoulders during approximately five months of employment with R Ranch. The AME, Dr. Peter Newton, evaluated applicant and, after the court ordered development of the record on the cumulative trauma issue, authored five additional reports unequivocally concluding no cumulative injury occurred. The WCJ found no industrial injury (specific or cumulative), and applicant sought reconsideration arguing the record was incomplete and further discovery was necessary. The Appeals Board denied reconsideration, adopting the WCJ's report, and noted that despite applicant counsel's claims of missing records, no such records were submitted in the more than two years between deposition and trial. The Board admonished applicant's attorney for making misleading allegations or allegations made with reckless indifference, particularly the unsupported claim that Dr. Newton instructed the parties to develop the record.