Salas, Sophia

Sophia Salas, a delivery driver employed less than six months, claimed a psychiatric injury (PTSD) arising from a November 25, 2020 motor vehicle accident in which her delivery van was t-boned, spun, and rolled onto its side, requiring her to be pulled out through the passenger window. The WCJ found the psychiatric injury industrial but barred it under Labor Code section 3208.3(d) because Salas was employed less than six months and the accident, while sudden, was not 'extraordinary.' On reconsideration, the WCAB majority amended the F&O to find the accident was a sudden AND extraordinary employment condition, removing the section 3208.3(d) bar. The majority emphasized the fact-driven nature of the inquiry and that defendant presented no contrary evidence that such accidents were regular and routine. Commissioner Razo dissented, agreeing with the WCJ that a traffic collision was a foreseeable hazard of being a professional driver and was therefore not extraordinary.