CAROLINA HURRICANES LOS ANGELES KINGS and CHUBB INSURANCE ANSON CARTER WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARDSTATE OF CALIFORNIAANSON CARTER, Applicant,vs.CAROLINA HURRICANES, LOS ANGELESKINGS and CHUBB INSURANCE, Defendants.Case No. ADJ8620182(Oakland District Office)OPINION AND ORDERDENYING PETITION FORREMOVAL Defendant, Chubb Insurance on behalf of Carolina Hurricanes (Hurricanes) and Los Angeles Kings (Kings), has filed a timely, verified Petition for Removal, requesting that the Appeals Board rescind the Order dated April 14, 2014, wherein the workers’ compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) continued this matter to trial on July 15, 2014. 1 Defendant contends that Kings’ due process rights will be violated if it is forced to trial without opportunity to conduct discovery; that the medical record is not complete because the qualified medical evaluator (QME) in orthopedic surgery has not issued a final report; and that Dr. Ciepiela is an improper medical-legal evaluator and that he was not designated as applicant’s primary treating physician. Applicant has filed an Answer. For the reasons set forth by the WCJ in her Report and Recommendation on Petition for Removal, which we adopt and incorporate herein, we deny the petition. As to Kings, we note that both Hurricanes and Kings have signed a Proposal for Shared Defense Consent Agreement,2 copies of which are attached to the petition. The agreement provides that “one defense counsel shall be retained by Chubb on behalf of any Chubb insured team for each cumulative 1 Because of the pendency of this petition, the trial date was continued to September 23, 2014.2 It is interesting that Kings signed this agreement on February 27, 2013, but were not joined as a party defendant until January 13, 2014. , trauma workers’ compensation application filed in the State of California.” It also provides: “In carrying out the coordinated shared defense, assigned counsel on behalf of Chubb shall r
