Garcia, Joshua

Joshua Garcia, a tow truck driver, sustained an industrial injury on November 1, 2024, while employed by Pro Towing. He obtained a $15,000 third-party settlement from GEICO via a check made jointly payable to applicant, his attorney, and the workers' compensation insurer (Insurance Company of the West), but defendant refused to endorse the check or agree to disbursement. The WCJ found that the Appeals Board lacked jurisdiction to act on the disbursement of the third-party settlement funds. The Appeals Board granted reconsideration, agreeing the WCAB has no jurisdiction over the third-party tortfeasor (whose remedy lies in civil court under section 3850 et seq.), but rescinded the F&O out of an abundance of caution because the record was inadequate and because the WCAB does retain jurisdiction over related issues like credit under section 3861(a). The matter was returned to the trial level for further proceedings.