Sage Cooper — ADJ19100202

Sage Cooper, a correctional officer with CDCR (California Men's Colony), developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) caused by reactivation of the latent JC virus after she took immunosuppressant medication for a non-industrial condition. The WCJ denied the Labor Code section 3212.8 blood-borne infectious disease presumption and ordered applicant take nothing, relying on PQME opinions that JC virus is not a blood-borne pathogen by medical definition. The Appeals Board granted reconsideration, holding the WCJ applied the wrong legal standard because 'blood-borne infectious disease' is defined by statute, not medical convention, and the statutory definition is expansive. The Board found all presumption elements met: applicant is a peace officer under Penal Code 830.5, PML is caused by the JC virus which travels through the blood to the brain, and the condition manifested/developed during employment. The Board found defendant failed to rebut the presumption because the medical opinions on when applicant acquired the virus were speculative, and the immunosuppressant medication did not create the JC virus but merely allowed the already-present virus to progress. The F&O was rescinded and new findings substituted finding injury AOE/COE to the brain, with all other issues deferred.