Workers' Compensation Appeal Lawyer in Rancho Santa Margarita, California

What does a Rancho Santa Margarita Petition for Reconsideration actually look like?

A verified petition naming one of the five Section 5903 grounds, citing the trial record, and proposing the alternative order the worker wants.

A Petition for Reconsideration is the only path to challenge a Long Beach WCAB judge's decision on a Rancho Santa Margarita case. The petition is decided on the existing record, by the WCAB en banc panel in San Francisco, and the standard for grant is whether the judge's decision was supported by substantial evidence in light of the entire record. The grounds for reconsideration are limited to those listed in California Labor Code §5903.

What are the §5903 grounds for a Rancho Santa Margarita appeal?

California Labor Code §5903 lists five grounds: (a) the WCAB acted without or in excess of its powers; (b) the order was procured by fraud; (c) the evidence does not justify the findings of fact; (d) the petitioner discovered new evidence material to the petitioner, which could not, with reasonable diligence, have been produced at the hearing; and (e) the findings of fact do not support the order. A Rancho Santa Margarita apportionment appeal usually proceeds under §5903(c) (the evidence does not justify the apportionment percentage) or §5903(e) (the findings do not support the order). A new-evidence appeal under §5903(d) is rare and requires a sworn declaration explaining the diligence problem.

What is the §5903 filing deadline for a Rancho Santa Margarita appeal?

California Labor Code §5903 sets the deadline at 25 days from the date the decision is mailed by the Long Beach district office. Effective for decisions served electronically through EAMS, the deadline is 20 days from electronic service. The deadlines are jurisdictional, a one-day-late filing strips the WCAB en banc panel of jurisdiction and is dismissed without consideration of the merits. The verified deadline rule is 25 days mailed, 20 days electronic, never 30. A Rancho Santa Margarita worker who misses the deadline loses the right to appeal that decision permanently.

How does the WCAB en banc panel decide a Rancho Santa Margarita Petition for Reconsideration?

The WCAB en banc panel reviews the underlying trial record from the Long Beach district office and either grants or denies reconsideration. A grant is rare, published WCAB statistics show fewer than 15% of petitions are granted. A denial leaves the trial judge's decision intact and exhausts the workers' compensation administrative process. A grant produces a new decision (which can itself be challenged in the appellate courts under the writ-of-review path described below). For a Rancho Santa Margarita worker, the most common outcome is denial of reconsideration followed by a strategic call about whether the writ-of-review path under California Labor Code §5950 is worth pursuing.

What is the §5950 writ-of-review path for a Rancho Santa Margarita appeal?

After the WCAB en banc panel denies reconsideration, or grants it and issues a new decision the worker still disagrees with, the next step is a writ of review filed in the California Court of Appeal under California Labor Code §5950. The writ must be filed within 45 days of the WCAB's final decision; the standard of review is whether the WCAB acted in excess of its powers, the order was procured by fraud, the order was unreasonable, or the findings are not supported by substantial evidence. Writ-of-review filings are rare and have a low grant rate, the Court of Appeal typically denies them summarily, but for a high-value Rancho Santa Margarita apportionment or extraordinary-injury case the writ is the only path to appellate-court review.

Related on yazdchilaw.com: California workers' comp appeal pillar guide · Rancho Cucamonga workers' comp appeal · Santa Clarita workers' comp appeal · Rancho Santa Margarita workers' comp lawyer · California Labor Code §5903 (Petition for Reconsideration deadline).

Appeal procedure, verification, service, what follows

Three deadlines drive every California workers' comp appeal: 20 days (electronic) or 25 days (mail service) for a §5900 Petition for Reconsideration; 30 days for a §4610.5 IMR appeal of a Utilization Review treatment denial; 25 days from the reconsideration denial for a §5950 Writ of Review to the California Court of Appeal.

• Day 0, WCAB ruling served by EAMS (the Electronic Adjudication Management System)
• Day 20, California Labor Code §5900 Petition for Reconsideration deadline if served electronically through EAMS
• Day 25, §5900 Petition deadline if the WCAB decision was served by mail (+5 days under Code of Civil Procedure §1013)
• Day 25 after reconsideration denial, California Labor Code §5950 Writ of Review deadline to the California Court of Appeal
• 30 days from UR denial, California Labor Code §4610.5 Independent Medical Review (IMR) appeal of a Utilization Review treatment denial

Under California Labor Code §5903 a Petition for Reconsideration must rest on one of six specific grounds, (a) the appeals board acted without or in excess of its powers; (b) the order, decision, or award was procured by fraud; (c) the evidence does not justify the findings of fact; (d) the petitioner discovered new evidence that could not, with reasonable diligence, have been produced at hearing; (e) the findings of fact do not support the order, decision, or award; (f) any other matter required by law. A verified Petition for Reconsideration must be signed under penalty of perjury and served on every party and lien claimant on the same day it is filed with the appeals board.

The Petition is filed at the Long Beach WCAB district where the underlying Workers' Compensation Judge (WCJ) ruling was issued, then transmitted to the seven-member Workers' Compensation Appeals Board in San Francisco for review. After filing, the assigned trial-WCJ prepares a Report and Recommendation on Reconsideration; the appeals board then issues a written decision either granting the petition (which usually orders a rehearing on a defined issue, sometimes en banc) or denying it. If the petition is denied, the only remaining remedy is a §5950 Writ of Review to the California Court of Appeal, a discretionary writ the court may grant or summarily deny within 60 days.