Nicholas Kobe — ADJ10762593

Firefighter Nicholas Kobe sustained TMJ/myofascial pain in a parking-lot altercation with a fellow firefighter, Dreon Brown, after a verbal exchange over shift relief escalated to physical contact. The City of Los Angeles, permissibly self-insured, defended on the ground that applicant was the 'initial physical aggressor' under Labor Code §3600(a)(7), which would bar compensation. The WCJ found Brown was the initial physical aggressor because Brown made the first physical contact by placing his finger/hand on applicant's face, while applicant had confined his conduct to words up to that point. The WCJ awarded 72 days of temporary disability and 10% permanent disability based on unrebutted PQME evidence. The WCAB adopted the WCJ's Report, gave great weight to credibility determinations under Garza, and denied reconsideration.