Williams, Loring

Applicant Loring Williams sought removal of a WCJ's December 23, 2024 Findings of Fact and Order that denied his petition to quash a subpoena seeking five years of records from Kaiser Permanente, and also sought disqualification of the WCJ for allegedly forming unqualified opinions about his case. The WCAB panel denied the disqualification petition, finding the WCJ's expressions were part of the discharge of judicial duties and did not establish bias or a fixed opinion. The Board granted removal, holding that the blanket subpoena for all medical records violated applicant's constitutional right to privacy because the sole dispute concerned whether varicose vein treatment was needed to cure or relieve the industrial injury. The F&O was rescinded and the matter returned to the trial level for the parties to negotiate a narrower records request and, if necessary, for the WCJ to issue balanced discovery orders.