Salas, Blanca

Cost petitioner Supreme Copy Service, Inc. sought reconsideration of a WCJ's F&O finding it failed to prove a contested claim existed entitling it to medical-legal copy service reimbursement under Labor Code sections 4620 and 4621 and Colamonico. The WCJ reasoned that because defendant accepted the low back injury and the psych claim was subject to the six-month rule, there was no contested claim, and that some subpoenas were duplicative. The Board disagreed, finding the record reflected multiple unpaid-benefit disputes (shown by DORs), a QME proceeding, a denial of the psych claim, and a C&R resolving disputed body parts—all demonstrating a contested claim existed. The Board emphasized the statutory distinction between 'injury' and 'benefits,' holding that acceptance of an injury does not preclude a contested claim where benefits remain disputed. The Board granted reconsideration, rescinded the F&O, substituted a finding that a contested claim existed under section 4620, and deferred all other issues, returning the matter to the trial level.