Bravo, Ramiro

Applicant Ramiro Bravo, a forklift operator, sustained injury to his thoracic and lumbar spine on 4/26/17. After a prior 27% PD stipulated award in 2019, he filed a timely Petition to Reopen for new and further disability. At trial, defendant asserted 42% PD and applicant claimed 100% total disability based on vocational expert evidence. The WCJ found applicant 42% permanently disabled, holding that applicant's vocational expert (Thomas Linvill) report did not constitute substantial evidence and failed to rebut the AME's AMA Guides-based rating. The WCAB denied reconsideration, adopting the WCJ's report, while noting that defendant's vocational expert was similarly defective but that applicant bore the burden of proof to rebut the prima facie rating, which he failed to meet.