In this issue..
County of Mariposa v.
WCAB (Johnson)
Vol. XII No. XII
December 2006
COMPENSATION
NEWS
MONTHLY REPORT
Statute of Limitations decision on
cumulative trauma injury
This is an
unpublished appeals
court decision
T
his newsletter does not
normally report on
unpublished decisions.
However, this case has some
significance.
In this case the applicant
began working for the employer
in 1985. In 2002, the applicant
started having symptoms of
hypertension, headaches, and
insomnia. The applicant
attributed this to stress in the
work place.
The applicant visited a
physician and told the physician
assistant of the work related
problems. The applicant
continued working and did not
immediately report a claim for
Workers' Compensation.
The applicant was
subsequently demoted. The
applicant believed he was going
to have a nervous breakdown and
resigned from the employer on
September 10, 2004. On October
18, 2004 the applicant filed a
claim form and Application for
Adjudication.
The defendant declined to pay
benefits because of the defense of
the Statute of Limitations. The
Workers' Compensation Judge
(WCJ) heard the case on the
issues of date of injury and the
statute of limitations only. All
other issues were deferred. The
WCJ found against the defendant.
The defendant filed a petition for
reconsideration. The Workers'
Compensation Appeals Board
(WCAB) denied the petition.
The appellate court reviewed
Labor Code section 5412 to
determine the date of injury for
statute of limitations purposes.
It looked at when the
employment caused compensable
disability. It cited previous cases
stating that medical treatment
alone, is not disability. However,
it may be evidence of a
compensable permanent
disability. The question is not
whether the applicant saw a
doctor but whether there was a
compensable disability.

=================
Editor: Harvey Brown
Firm: Samuelsen, Gonzalez,
Valenzuela and Brown
Address: 18500 Von
Karman #470, Irvine
Click here for printable version