County of Sacramento v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Opinion

NICHOLSON, J. The County of Sacramento sought a writ of review in this court after the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (the Board) upheld the award of temporary benefits to respondent Pamela Estrada. We granted the petition and issued the writ. We now find the Board’s order must be annulled because the workers’ compensation judge acted in excess of her statutory authority in leaving open discovery after the mandatory settlement conference and in admitting evidence.

[1431]Procedural History1

In March 1992, Estrada was employed by the county as a work project inmate and injured her back on the job. She filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits in propria persona and obtained an evaluation from a qualified medical evaluator (QME), Dr. Alan Tempkin. After receiving Dr. Tempkin’s report, the county objected to it on the basis that it did not comply with Labor Code section 4628 for failure to state what was relied on in forming his opinion.2

In April 1997, Estrada retained counsel and requested the county to stipulate to an agreed medical evaluator. They agreed on Dr. Henry Eddington; however, Estrada changed her mind and decided, instead, to rely on Dr. Tempkin’s evaluation.

In September 1997, Dr. Tempkin issued a one-page report with no references to or discussion of the records provided to him. The county again objected to the report on the basis that it was inadequate under section 4628.

In December 1997, Estrada filed a “Request for Expedited Hearing and Decision” with the the Board, in which she declared, under penalty of perjury, that she was ready to proceed and that discovery was complete.

On December 12, 1997, the parties attended a mandatory settlement conference and advised the workers’ compensation judge that they were ready to proceed by way of an expedited hearing and decision. The county objected to reliance on Dr. Tempkin’s report. In response, Estrada stated she would obtain a supplemental report to overcome the deficiencies of the existing report. The county, however, objected to this procedure because, by statute, discovery closed on the date of the settlement conference. (See § 5502, subd. (d)(3).) The workers’ compensation judge overruled the county’s objection and left discovery open for Estrada to obtain the supplemental report.