Peggy Skains — ADJ10137307

State Compensation Insurance Fund, legally uninsured and administered by The Hartford, sought removal of a November 9, 2020 Minute Order in which the WCJ set for trial the issue of liability for applicant Peggy Skains's vocational evaluation expenses. Defendant argued that further discovery was needed before the reasonableness and necessity of the vocational rehabilitation costs were ripe for adjudication, particularly because the case-in-chief and the permanent disability level remained unresolved. The Appeals Board denied removal, finding that defendant could raise its arguments at trial and therefore failed to show irreparable harm or that reconsideration would be an inadequate remedy. The Board cited its en banc decision in Costa v. Hardy Diagnostic, noting that determining liability for vocational expert costs is a fact-intensive inquiry that need not wait until the conclusion of the case-in-chief.