Winston, Janet

Janet Winston, a Supervising Parole Officer for CDCR from 1984-2004, suffered a stroke in June 2007 and filed an Application in January 2016 alleging cumulative trauma injuries to her heart, hypertension, kidneys, stroke, and upper digestive tract/GERD. The WCJ found 90% permanent disability and held that the date of injury under Labor Code section 5412 was June 8, 2019 (the date of PQME Dr. Rodas's first report), so the claim was not barred by the statute of limitations under section 5405(a). Defendant sought reconsideration, arguing the date of injury was in 2007 when applicant should have known her stroke was work-related given her prior industrial hypertension claim and Dr. Thompson's warnings. The Appeals Board affirmed, finding applicant credibly testified she believed her stroke was due to cigarette smoking and was not work-related, and that Dr. Rodas characterized the stroke as a 'new and unexpected injury with different pathology' beyond the underlying hypertension. The Board distinguished Nielsen and concluded applicant lacked the requisite knowledge until the 2019 report.