Tito Torres

In this en banc decision, lien claimant Unitech Diagnostics filed a lien for $5,150 (plus penalties and interest totaling $8,904.04) for diagnostic services allegedly rendered to applicant Tito Torres, whose underlying claims for spine and bilateral lower extremity injuries were resolved by a 2005 compromise and release that did not list Unitech's lien. At the lien trial, Unitech offered only an unsigned, unauthenticated insurance claim form and presented no evidence of compensable injury, no testimony, and no medical reports despite listing exhibits in the PTCS. The WCJ disallowed the lien for failure to meet the burden of proof and imposed $750 in sanctions plus attorney's fees under section 5813 for proceeding to trial frivolously. The Board affirmed the disallowance and the finding of bad faith/frivolous conduct, holding that sections 3202.5 and 5705 require lien claimants to prove all elements by a preponderance of the evidence and abrogated the Keifer/Garcia rule that a billing statement alone establishes a prima facie case. However, the Board rescinded and deferred the sanctions award so the WCJ could determine the proper amount and whether sanctions should also be imposed on Green Lien Collections and hearing representative Suzi Gonzalez.