by steelmanlaw on Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:44 pm
Plenty of writ denied cases uphold WCAB panel decisions that a psych injury governed by the good faith personnel action defense is not the same as a stress injury causing hypertension, gastroenteritis, etc., to which latter claims the good faith personnel action do not apply. (See, Verizon/GTE v. WCAB (Garth) (2002) 67 CCC 856 [writ denied]; May Co. v. WCAB (Hull) (2001) 66 CCC 1378 [writ denied]; and, City of Cypress v. WCAB (Spernak) (1996) 61 CCC 612 [writ denied].) I know this first hand, as I recently prevailed on the defense against the psyche claim under section 3208.3 (h) where the Trial judge ruled against me following Trial, but the Recon Unit reversed in defendant's favor to apply the defense. (Rather the Trial Judge failed to address good faith personnel action at all in his Trial findings, and only cursorily in his report and recommendation on recon.)
However, that same Opinion on Decision remanded back to the trial judge on hypertension and gastro complaints, per Tyler et al., for development of the record, and is so doing cited the above cases. Interestingly, the only medical report available for this 'AOE/COE Priority Conference" leading to Trial was the treating psych report which explicitly deferred to physicians in other disciplines on hypertension and gastro- complaints. Otherwise, it would not be prudent for me to elaborate further as to my litigation POA, as the matter is still pending development of the record.
But that's just me.