WCPanelIQ
PanelQMEMed-legalLienDenied

Rico, Denise

DENISE RICO, Applicant vs. STARCREST PRODUCTS OF CALIFORNIA, INC.; ZENITH INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendants

ADJ number
ADJ15742808
Decision date
Apr 2, 2023
District office
Riverside District Office
WCJ
Eric Thompson
Claim administrator
Zenith Insurance Company
Commissioners
—

Injury / body parts: hands, wrists, fingers, arms, upper extremities

LC §4060LC §4062.2LC §4061LC §4062LC §4064LC §4620LC §4622LC §4628LC §139.2LC §5705LC §3202.5LC §5307.6CCR §9793CCR §9785CCR §10682

Summary

Denise Rico sustained a specific injury to her upper extremities on 07/13/2021, and Zenith Insurance Company denied the claim on 10/08/2021. After the applicant's attorney requested a medical-legal report from treating physician Dr. Omid Haghighinia, D.C. of Medland Medical on a contested/denied claim, Medland filed a lien, and at trial the WCJ found the initial report dated 03/28/2022 compensable as an ML-201 valued at $2,015.00. Zenith petitioned for reconsideration, disputing only finding number 4 and arguing under Labor Code 4060(c) and 4062.2 that Dr. Haghighinia was not a Panel QME and his report could not be a compensable medical-legal report. The WCJ recommended denial, reasoning that under Labor Code 4060(b), 4064, and 4620(a), a treating physician's report addressing causation on a contested/denied claim qualifies as a compensable medical-legal expense. The WCAB adopted and incorporated the WCJ's Report and denied reconsideration.

Issues

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Holding

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Analysis

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Applicant takeaway

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Defense takeaway

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Provider takeaway

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