Felipe Martinez — ADJ13831424

Felipe Martinez died from occupationally contracted COVID-19 on June 16, 2020. His widow, Guadalupe Navarro, acting in pro per and with limited English proficiency, executed a Compromise and Release (C&R) on DWC Form 10214(d) on October 21, 2020, settling the dependency death claim for the present value of the statutory death benefit, without a certified Spanish interpreter. After retaining counsel, she petitioned to set aside the C&R and filed a serious and willful misconduct (S&W) petition under Labor Code section 4553. The WCJ found good cause to set aside the OACR, allowed the S&W claim to proceed, and declined to require reimbursement of funds, granting defendant only a credit. The Board, after reconsideration, affirmed the F&O (amending only to strike Finding 5), holding that the C&R resolved only the dependency claim, the S&W claim was not settled, and good cause existed to set aside the OACR given the lack of an interpreter and mutual mistake.