Noe Vega

Applicant Noe Vega, a Taco Bell store manager, filed a claim for an industrial back and right knee injury and, at the direction of his attorney, refused to attend medical appointments with physicians designated under the employer's Health Care Organization (HCO) plan. Defendant sought an expedited hearing under Labor Code section 5502(b) via a Petition for Order to Restore Medical Control, arguing applicant was denying its right of medical control under section 4600.3. The WCJ/PWCJ denied the request, finding medical control is not an enumerated issue under section 5502(b) and that defendant had other adequate remedies. The Appeals Board vacated its prior order granting reconsideration, granted removal under section 5310, and held that a defendant IS entitled to an expedited hearing where its right to medical control under an HCO plan (and thus the applicant's entitlement to medical treatment) is at issue. The matter was returned to the trial level for an expedited hearing on the Petition for Order to Restore Medical Control.