ENCINO HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER; HARTFORD INSURANCE COMPANY, Administered by CORVEL CORPORATION LAWRENCE LORENZ WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARDSTATE OF CALIFORNIALAWRENCE LORENZ, Applicant,vs.ENCINO HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER; HARTFORD INSURANCE COMPANY, Administered by CORVEL CORPORATION, Defendants.Case No. ADJ7659456 4 LAWRENCE LORENZ, (Van Nuys District Office)OPINION AND DECISION AFTER RECONSIDERATION We granted defendant’s Petition for Reconsideration on August 8, 2014 to further study the factual and legal issues in this case. This is our Opinion and Decision After Reconsideration. Defendant sought reconsideration of the Findings and Award and Order (F&A) issued on May 16, 2014 by a workers’ compensation administrative law judge (WCJ). The WCJ found in pertinent part that applicant sustained injury to his back during the period from June 1, 2008 to and including April 15, 2010; that applicant was in need of further medical treatment; and that the injury caused 12% permanentdisability. He ordered that the April 15, 2010 report of Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME) Dennis Ainbinder, M.D., was designated as Exhibit 1 and admitted into evidence. Defendant contended that Exhibit I was not admissible “against defendants” because Dr. Ainbinder was the AME in applicant’s other two industrial injury cases and it did not agree to use Dr. Ainbinder as an AME in this case; that Dr. Ainbinder’s opinion was not substantial medical evidence; that applicant did not meet his burden of proof with respect to industrial causation of injury because Dr. Ainbinder’s opinion was not admissible “against defendants” and not substantial medical evidence; and that since applicant stipulated at the Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC) that he was permanent and stationary on March 15, 2006, applicant has stipulated that “the cumulative trauma injury does not exist.” We received an Answer from applicant. We received a Report and Recommendation (Re
