Macias, Beatriz (Dec.)

Beatriz Macias, a deputy sheriff, sustained industrial metastatic breast cancer and a right upper extremity ulnar nerve injury, and was found 100 percent permanently disabled before dying of her industrial cancer at age 51. The WCJ awarded permanent disability benefits commencing August 11, 2018 through her death on April 1, 2025, but applied credits for permanent disability previously paid, days worked at full salary, section 4850 benefits, and temporary total disability indemnity, including benefits paid in a separate orthopedic case. Applicant sought reconsideration, arguing the credits against the permanent disability award for earnings, TD, and section 4850 benefits exceeded the WCJ's powers and lacked evidentiary justification. The Board granted reconsideration, holding that permanent disability indemnity compensates for physical loss and lifelong impairment, not merely lost wages, so an employer may not credit wages, TD, or section 4850 benefits against a PD award. The Board amended Finding of Fact #4 to allow credit only for permanent disability paid under the prior 21 percent award and struck the other credits, otherwise affirming the F&A.