Alisa Onruang — ADJ10793479

Applicant, a registered nurse who injured her neck (and claimed other body parts) while working for UCLA in 2016, sought transportation services with an assistant to facilitate her activities of daily living because her industrial injuries left her unable to drive or use public transportation safely. Defendant's UR physician expressly declined to address medical necessity, calling transportation outside the scope of UR, and the AD's IMR unit rejected applicant's IMR request as ineligible. The WCJ found the WCAB had jurisdiction to decide the transportation issue and that applicant needed the transportation, and defendant sought removal. The Appeals Board treated the petition as one for reconsideration (because jurisdiction is a threshold/final issue) and affirmed. The Board held that because both UR and IMR declined to address the request, the WCAB retained jurisdiction under sections 5300, 5304, and 4604, and that substantial medical evidence established the need for non-medical transportation as a form of medical treatment under section 4600.