PERMANENTE MEDICAL GROUP, and ATHENS ADMINISTRATORS (Adjusting Agent) | EUREKA UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT; CALIFORNIA INSURANCE GUARANTEE ASSOCIATION on behalf of CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION INSURANCE COMPANY DONNA YEE-SANCHEZ | NATALIE PIATT WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARDSTATE OF CALIFORNIADONNA YEE-SANCHEZ, Applicant,Vs.PERMANENTE MEDICAL GROUP, and ATHENS ADMINISTRATORS (Adjusting Agent), Defendant(s). Case No. OAK 271713OPINION AND ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR REMOVAL–NATALIE PIATT, Applicant,Vs.EUREKA UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT; CALIFORNIA INSURANCE GUARANTEE ASSOCIATION on behalf of ALIFORNIA COMPENSATION INSURANCE COMPANY, in liquidation, Defendant(s). Case No. SAC 304854OPINION AND DECISION AFTER RECONSIDERATIONI.IntroductionA. These two cases present some common issues regarding: (a) what the parties and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (“WCAB”) can and cannot do before an application for adjudication of claim (“application”) has been filed; and (b) what the parties and the WCAB cando to remedy pre-application abuses once an application is ultimately filed. Because of these , common issues, we have consolidated the two cases for purposes of issuing a joint opinion. (See Lab. Code, §133; cf., Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, §§10590-10592.)We conclude: (1) Except for injuries sustained from January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1993, the WCAB has no jurisdiction over any aspect of a workers’ compensation claim until an application for adjudication of claim (and not just a claim form) has been filed. (See Lab. Code, § 5500.) Therefore, prior to the filing of an application, the WCAB cannot conduct any hearings or issue any orders, and a party cannot invoke the WCAB’s judicial process to conduct compelled discovery (e.g., noticing a deposition, subpoenaing a witness to a deposition, or subpoenaing medical records and other documents). (2) Nevertheless, prior to the filing of an application (but after the filing of a claim form), the parties may engage in n
