Galindo, Jorge

Applicant Jorge Galindo, a parts delivery driver employed by Nissan Automotive of Mission Hills for less than six months, claimed a psychiatric injury arising from a June 2, 2011 incident in which a 900-pound engine he was helping lift was dropped by coworkers, causing severe physical injury. The WCJ found that under Labor Code section 3208.3(d), applicant could not recover for psychiatric injury because he had been employed less than six months and the injury was not caused by a 'sudden and extraordinary employment condition.' The WCAB majority granted reconsideration solely to correct the WCJ's erroneous finding that applicant did not sustain a psychiatric injury AOE/COE (clarifying that the statute bars payment of compensation, not compensability itself), but otherwise affirmed. The majority agreed the lifting of automobile parts was a regular and routine job duty, so applicant failed to meet his burden to establish the sudden-and-extraordinary exception. Deputy Commissioner Schmitz dissented, arguing that manually lifting a 900-pound engine without a cherry picker or safety spotters was uncommon, unusual, and unexpected under Matea, and that defendant presented no rebuttal evidence.