Elliott Barnard — ADJ19531062

Applicant Elliott Barnard, a Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff, sustained an accepted industrial right shoulder injury on April 24, 2019. The County provided temporary disability through May 2, 2019 and issued a Notice Regarding Permanent Disability Benefits Denial on September 12, 2019, but the Notice failed to check the box providing the required instructions on how to obtain a QME panel evaluation. Applicant filed his Application for Adjudication on July 11, 2024, more than five years after injury, and defendant raised a statute of limitations defense under Labor Code sections 5405 and 5410. The WCJ found defendant estopped from asserting the statute of limitations because its benefit notice did not comply with AD Rule 9812(e)(3), tolling the limitations period. The Board denied reconsideration, agreeing that the defective notice tolled the statute and that defendant failed to meet its burden of proof.