Shohreh Kazrani — ADJ12439078

Applicant Shohreh Kazrani, a special education assistant with three admitted injury claims against permissibly self-insured LAUSD, sought to appoint a chiropractor as her primary treating physician (PTP). Defendant's MPN allows chiropractors to treat but not to serve as PTPs, and applicant argued that because the MPN lacked at least three chiropractors available to act as PTPs, the access standards of 8 CCR 9767.5(a) were violated, entitling her to self-procure treatment outside the MPN at employer expense. The WCJ found that as long as the MPN has at least three physicians of specialties appropriate to the worker's occupation/industry available to act as PTP, the access standards are satisfied, and the question of chiropractor availability was moot. The WCAB granted reconsideration to study the issues and ultimately affirmed the WCJ's decision, adopting and incorporating the WCJ's Report. The Board declined to consider whether defendant improperly precluded a chiropractor PTP because that issue was not actually raised at trial, and noted that any dispute over the validity of the MPN contract belongs before the Administrative Director, not the Appeals Board.