On March 12, 2019, DGC attorney Jonathan Freeman obtained a decision awarding the applicant no benefits after trial at the Oakland WCAB.
The claimed injury involved an applicant in a warehouse who alleged she was struck in the head by merchandise in March of 2018. The injury appeared superficial, the diagnostics were unremarkable, and when the applicant was non-cooperative with discovery in the early stages of the claim, the case was denied.
When the applicant retained counsel, the case was referred to DGC in September 2018. Working with the employer and TPA, DGC attempted reasonable settlement at multiple stages for nominal value, but the applicant was unwilling to resolve her case and proceeded with a PQME. The PQME indicated that the applicant had 0% WPI and did not require a medical award. The applicant continued to refuse settlement but did not take further action to develop the record. DGC’s counsel was successful in quickly moving the case to an MSC, closing discovery, and obtaining favorable pre-trial stipulations regarding the applicant’s indemnity rate, periods of disability, and other matters in the pre-trial conference statement.
At an all-day trial on February 25, 2019, the applicant attempted to claim that the PQME’s report was not substantial evidence based on lay testimony and contradictory complaints about the evaluation process. Due in part to the DGC attorney’s vigorous cross-examination, the WCJ ultimately concluded that the applicant testimony regarding the PQME reporting was not credible and that although the applicant claimed to have problem slurring her words, this was not apparent at trial. DGC’s counsel also succeeded in barring applicant’s proposed witness from the stand and succeeded in barring the applicant from testifying to other claims and injuries that she planned to file.
The WCJ ultimately awarded $0.00 in TD, $0.00 in PD, $0.00 in attorneys’ fees and no medical award, essentially resulting in a “take nothing further” for the applicant subject to any petition to reopen. The decision has not been appealed and is therefore final.
You can read the redacted Minutes of Hearing and Summary of Evidence, and the WCJ’s Findings and Order and Opinion on Decision below.
Minutes of Hearing and Summary of Evidence: Click here
WCJ’s Findings and Order and Opinion on Decision: Click here
Media Contact:
David Jankosky, Director of Client Services, DGC Attorneys
djankosky@dgcattorneys.com / (818) 654-9911, Ex. 1231