Rivera Gutierrez, Leticia

Applicant Leticia Rivera Gutierrez sustained two industrial injuries while working as a machine operator for Labornow, Inc.: a 2/15/2019 injury to the cervical spine (with claimed bilateral shoulders and wrists) and a 6/3/2019 injury to the lumbar spine (with claimed bilateral hips). Defendant petitioned for reconsideration, arguing the WCJ failed to take judicial notice of a 15-year-old prior award (ADJ189384) under Labor Code 5313 and failed to address apportionment, and that the attorney fee award did not account for a prior applicant attorney's lien standing. The WCAB granted reconsideration, adopting the WCJ's report, amending Finding of Fact 8 in both cases to clarify attorney fees, but otherwise affirmed the findings and award. The Board rejected defendant's apportionment argument because defendant failed to meet its two-prong burden under Labor Code 4664(b) of proving both the existence of a prior award and overlap of disability. The outcome was a partial grant solely to amend attorney fee findings while denying the substantive apportionment challenge.