Elisa Lopez Navarro — ADJ9845367

Applicant Elisa Lopez Navarro filed an unverified petition to reopen for new and further disability following a 2018 Award based on a 19% PD rating from AME Dr. Silbart. After updated AME reports rated her at 27% PD, the WCJ found jurisdiction to issue an award for new and further disability. Defendant County of Los Angeles (self-insured, administered by Sedgwick) petitioned for reconsideration, arguing the petition to reopen should have been dismissed for lacking the mandatory verification under section 5902. The WCAB denied reconsideration, holding that failure to verify is not a jurisdictional defect mandating dismissal and that, under Lucena, dismissal requires notice of the defect and a failure to cure—neither of which occurred here. The Board found no abuse of discretion in the WCJ's decision not to dismiss the petition.