WCPanelIQ
PanelQMEDenied

Vargas, Juan

JUAN VARGAS, Applicant vs. SONTAG CONSTRUCTION, INC.; OMAHA NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendants

ADJ number
ADJ18040257
Decision date
Dec 7, 2025
District office
Van Nuys
WCJ
Dean Stringfellow
Claim administrator
Omaha National Insurance Company
Commissioners
—

Injury / body parts: head, headaches, post-traumatic concussion syndrome

LC §4600LC §4616.2LC §5900LC §5909CCR §9767.6CCR §9767.10CCR §10803

Summary

Applicant Juan Vargas, a 33-year-old carpenter with an admitted 6/13/2023 head injury, selected the Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS)/Dr. Koh as his primary treating physician on 6/23/2025 from the carrier's MPN, where CNS was then listed. The carrier subsequently notified applicant that CNS/Dr. Koh was no longer on the MPN and refused to authorize treatment. The WCJ found the selection valid because CNS was on the MPN at the time of selection, and that defendant could not deny treatment via retroactive removal from the MPN. Defendant petitioned for reconsideration, arguing it timely notified applicant the PTP was no longer in the MPN and disputing a stipulation characterization in the Summary of Evidence. The Appeals Board denied reconsideration, adopting the WCJ's Report (except the dismissal section) and holding that there is no legal basis to deny treatment by retroactively removing a validly selected physician from the MPN.

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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