California Court of Appeal

In a worker's compensation claim, an award determined by respondent-Board is reversed and remanded where: 1) victim-employee's permanent disability should have been rated using the 1997 rating schedule rather than the 2005 rating schedule; 2) a finding of permanent total disability was not appropriate in this case; 3) under the revised worker's compensation system an employer is liable for only the portion of an injured worker's permanent disability that is directly caused by the industrial injury; 4) a finding of permanent total disability in employee's case was based in part on a finding that vocational rehabilitation was not feasible due in part to pre-existing nonindustrial factors; and thus, 5) company was not liable for that portion of victim-employee's permanent disability that was caused by pre-existing nonindustrial factors.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/16/2008
• Published 12/16/2008

Judges

• BAMATTRE-MANOUKIAN, Acting P.J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert J. Succa, Esq., San Francisco, D'Andre, Peterson, Bobus, Bruscino & Rosenberg, for Petitioner, Hertz Corporation.


• For Appellees:
  
• No appearance for Respondent Workers' Compensation Appeals Board., Dennis D. Olson, Esq., for Respondent, Manual Aguilar.