Jones v. Workmen's Compensation Appeals Board

MOSK. J. We granted petitioner Leander Leroy Jones’ application for a writ of review to consider his contention that, in overturning the referee’s award in his favor, the Workmen’s Compensation Appeals Board (hereinafter called W.C.A.B.) acted without substantial evidence in the record to support its determination. We hold that no probative evidence supports the W.C.A.B.’s decision, and it must therefore be annulled.

In 1961 petitioner, a garbage collector, sustained a severe back injury in the process of lifting a 50-gallon trash barrel. In its initial decision, issued upon reconsideration on November 10, 1965, the W.C.A.B. found that petitioner had suffered a 42 percent disability. At that time petitioner also claimed a traumatic psychoneurosis but his purported disability in that regard was not then sustained.

On November 30, 1965, petitioner was committed to the Patton State Hospital for the mentally ill. On December 22, 1965, petitioner instituted the present action, raising the issue of a new and further disability based on mental illness growing out of and attributable to his injury. The case was reopened, new evidence was received, and the referee issued his award on February 14, 1967. The uncontradicted medical testimony, including that of an independent medical examiner, estab[478]lished that since November 1965 petitioner had been totally disabled by reason of his mental and emotional instability which resulted directly from his industrial injury. On the basis of the uncontradicted testimony the referee found petitioner to have a 100 percent permanent disability resulting from traumatic psychoneurosis.

The City of Riverside and the State Compensation Insurance Fund, as respondents, filed a petition for reconsideration with the W.C.A.B. and claimed that the doctrine of res judicata barred the new decision. The W.C.A.B. rejected their res judicata contention,1 but ruled for respondents on the merits in reliance on medical testimony given in 1964 and 1965 in the initial (as distinguished from the reopened) stage of the proceeding. The W.C.A.B. expressed its opinion as follows: “We have reviewed the record, including the medical report of Dr. Richard R. Parlour dated August 4, 1964, in which Dr. Parlour concludes that the patient’s mental status is the same as before the industrial injury in June 1961. Dr. Joseph Perl-son, Independent Medical Examiner, in his report dated January 15, 1965, concludes that the applicant was not suffering from any post-traumatic psyehoneurosis or any other mental disease resulting from the industrial injury of June 10, 1961. In view of the substantial evidence of record, including the aforesaid medical reports, it is our opinion that the applicant did not suffer any additional temporary total disability or permanent disability during the period November 30, 1965, through January 5, 1966. In our opinion, the reports of Dr. Parlour and Dr. Perlson are more persuasive than the other medical reports bearing on the aforesaid injury in this ease. Our power to choose between conflicting medical reports is too well settled to require further comment. (See Foster v. I.A.C., 20 C.C.C. 276 [136 Cal.App.2d 812 (289 P.2d 253)]).”