COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, permissibly self-insured JAMES VAN DELL (Deceased) LORILENE VAN DELL WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARDSTATE OF CALIFORNIAJAMES VAN DELL (Deceased) LORILENE VAN DELL, Applicant,vs.COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, permissibly self-insured, Defendant.Case No. ADJ7365717(Van Nuys District Office)DECISION AFTER RECONSIDERATION On October 15, 2012, we granted applicant’s dependent Lorilene Van Dell (applicant’s spouse), on behalf of James Van Dell (applicant decedent), (collectively, applicant)’s petition for reconsideration to further study the facts and applicable law and issue a just and reasoned decision. This is our decision after reconsideration. Applicant sought reconsideration of the Findings and Order (F&O) issued in this case by the workers’ compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) on July 26, 2012. In that F&O, the WCJ found that defendant County of Los Angeles (defendant) did not unreasonably delay or refuse to provide death benefits to applicant’s spouse and ordered that applicant’s spouse take nothing on her request for penalties. Applicant’s spouse contended that defendant unreasonably delayed payment of death benefits after she provided sufficient evidence establishing her total and/or partial dependency pursuant to Labor Code1 section 3501, subdivision (d), so that she should have been awarded penalties under section 5814. We did not receive an answer from defendant. We received a Report and Recommendation (Report) from the WCJ in response to applicant’s petition, which recommended denial of the petition. We have reviewed the record and considered the allegations of the Petition for Reconsideration 1 Unless otherwise stated, all statutory references are to the Labor Code. , and the contents of the Report. Based on our review of the record and for the reasons stated below, we will rescind the F&O and find that defendant unreasonably delayed payment of benefits, defer the amount of the penalty, a
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