HECTOR ORTEGA vs. VELOCITY EXPRESS LEASING, INC., LEXINGTON INSURANCE COMPANY, c/o AMERICAN INSURANCE GUARANTEE

This case concerns Hector Ortega's claim for workers' compensation benefits for an alleged injury on June 7, 2007. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) denied his petition for reconsideration, upholding the finding that his claim was barred by the one-year statute of limitations. Ortega argued that a date-stamped Application for Adjudication of Claim, received by the WCAB on July 1, 2010, proved timely filing or warranted a due process hearing. However, the WCAB found this Application was not submitted into evidence at trial, and an Amended Application, filed later, did not relate back to overcome the statute of limitations as no timely original application was in evidence. Consequently, the Board concluded that the claim was not timely filed and denied reconsideration.