Bank Of The West, and ESIS Doris Cortes WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARDSTATE OF CALIFORNIADORIS CORTES, Applicant,vs.BANK OF THE WEST, and ESIS, Defendants.Case No. ADJ7412016OPINION AND ORDERS GRANTING PETITION FOR REMOVAL AND DECISION AFTER REMOVAL, AND NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPROVE STIPULATIONS WITH REQUEST FOR AWARD Defendant has filed a timely, verified Petition for Removal, requesting that the Appeals Board rescind the Order dated December 29, 2010, wherein the presiding workers’ compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) ordered that defendant “write to Dr. Santaniello of Fresno to request an Almaraz/Guzman assessment.”1 Defendant contends that there are no objective findings of impairment, evidence of neurologic impairment, clinical or radiographic findings that would require rebuttal to the zero percent rating in this case. We have not received an answer from applicant, who is not represented by an attorney. Applicant, while employed as a customer service worker from March 24, 2007, through March 24, 200S, sustained an industrial injury to her wrists and elbows. She did not lose any time from work because of this injury. She was examined by John Santaniello, M.D., as qualified medical evaluator (QME) on May 20, 2010. Dr. Santaniello found no impairment for her bilateral elbows and no impairment for her bilateral hands and wrists. He recommended future medical treatment. 1 In Milpitas Unified School District v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2010) 187 Cal.App.4th 808 [75 Cal.Comp.Cases 837, 839], the Court of Appeal held that “the language of [Labor Code] section 4660 permits reliance on the entire [American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition], including the instructions on the use of clinical judgment, in deriving an impairment rating in a particular case.” See also Almaraz v. Environmental Recovery Services/Guzman v. Milpitas Unified School District (2009) 74 Cal.Comp.Case
Menu
