Loza, Amalia Cabrera

Applicant Amalia Cabrera Loza filed three identical petitions—for reconsideration, removal, and disqualification of the WCJ—following the second day of trial proceedings on April 1, 2025, in essence seeking to disqualify the trial judge. The applicant subsequently submitted a request to withdraw all three petitions. The Board dismissed all petitions on the basis of withdrawal but used the decision to emphasize the proper procedures for filing such petitions, noting the petitions appeared to have little merit and bordered on frivolous. The Board explained that petitions for reconsideration may only be taken from final orders (not interlocutory orders like one setting further proceedings), that removal is an extraordinary remedy requiring substantial prejudice or irreparable harm, and that the disqualification petition was both factually deficient and untimely under WCAB Rule 10960. Applicant's counsel was reminded that non-compliance with the rules could be subject to sanctions.