Pierce, Brad

Decedent Brad Peirce filed a cumulative trauma claim with a 2012 date of injury; following his death on March 10, 2021, his widow Sherry Hayes-Peirce sought death benefits. A prior Appeals Board decision found the death industrial but returned the matter to determine whether the death claim was barred by the statute of limitations under Labor Code section 5406(b). The WCJ found the death claim was not barred, reasoning that the decedent developed distinct, later-manifesting compensable conditions (hypertensive heart disease in 2017 and coronary atherosclerosis in 2018) that supported a later date of injury under section 5412. Defendant sought reconsideration, arguing the date of injury was February 22, 2012, making the death claim untimely. The Board granted reconsideration to further study the factual and legal issues, noting the WCJ never made an actual finding of fact as to the date of injury, and deferred a final decision while encouraging mediation.