Victor Bonnevie — ADJ12994854, ADJ12994855

Applicant Victor Bonnevie filed a Petition for Removal challenging a WCJ's Joint Findings and Orders that denied his attempt to unilaterally withdraw from an agreement to use Dr. Sabbag as an Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME). The parties had agreed to the AME but no evaluation had yet taken place when applicant sought to withdraw. The WCAB majority denied removal, holding that under Labor Code section 4062.2(f) an AME agreement may only be canceled by mutual written consent, and that the statute's disjunctive language precludes a QME panel request where the parties have either agreed to submit an issue to an AME OR actually submitted the issue. The majority expressly disagreed with the Yarbrough panel decision, finding its reasoning unpersuasive. Commissioner Razo dissented, arguing that under Yarbrough a party may withdraw from an AME agreement before an evaluation has taken place.