Nguyen, Bichnga

Applicant Bichnga Nguyen, a dental assistant, sustained industrial injuries on December 24, 2018. After applicant filed a petition for costs and sanctions alleging bad faith discovery tactics by defense counsel (Matian Law Group), the WCJ issued an Amended Findings and Order on March 26, 2024, finding the firm acted in bad faith by repeatedly cancelling PQME (Dr. Hackman) and AME (Dr. Levine) appointments to cause unnecessary delay, ordering $11,093.75 in costs and a $750 sanction. The Matian Law Group petitioned for reconsideration, arguing the cancellations were not sanctionable, the issues were not timely or properly raised, and that it was denied due process. The Appeals Board granted reconsideration solely to give notice of its intent to amend the order to add Negar Matian individually and Matian Law Group as jointly and severally liable parties, while otherwise affirming the WCJ's decision for the reasons in the adopted Report. The Board found no due process violation and issued a Notice of Intent to impose the sanctions and costs pending any response showing good cause.