Luis Murillo — ADJ10598940, ADJ16413854

Defendant Starr Indemnity (administered by Gallagher Bassett) obtained QME Panel 7404253 more than six years after a January 27, 2015 specific injury that had been resolved by a 2016 stipulated award of 11% PD and future medical care, in which both parties expressly waived the right to a QME. No petition to reopen was filed within five years. Defendant used the QME report of Dr. Scott Graham to plead a new cumulative trauma claim (ADJ16413854) against a different employer/insurer. The WCJ found the panel invalid and excluded Dr. Graham's reports from both cases, and the WCAB denied reconsideration. The Board held that section 5804 bars rescinding, altering, or amending the now-final award after five years, that medical treatment disputes are resolved through UR/IMR rather than QMEs, and that the panel was invalid because it issued before ADJ16413854 existed and without participation by the second employer/insurer.