Vanessa Fatzer (Dec) — ADJ12616197

Vanessa Fatzer died from a motor vehicle accident on February 13, 2019, arising out of and in the course of her employment as a sales representative for Kelly-Moore Paint Company. The Death Without Dependents Unit (DWD) sought death benefits under Labor Code section 4706.5, contending that Joel Stapleton III, who had lived with the decedent for about fourteen months, failed to establish he was her partial dependent. The WCJ found Mr. Stapleton was a partial dependent based solely on deposition testimony from him and his father, neither of whom testified at trial. The Board granted reconsideration and rescinded the F&O, holding that deposition testimony alone, absent a credibility determination from live testimony, does not constitute substantial evidence to support a dependency finding. The matter was returned to the WCJ to develop the record and issue a new decision.