Montes v. Westside Children’s Center (2024 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 121)

The WCAB held that an AME’s reports would remain in evidence even though the examiner had to be replaced because he was no longer available for additional reporting or cross-examination.

The WCAB explained that even in instances in which a WCJ determines that a report has limited or no evidentiary weight with respect to the medical-legal conclusions reached by the evaluating physician, or because of other procedural or substantive deficiencies including the unavailability of the evaluating physician to submit to cross-examination, the report still might contain information necessary to the adjudication of the claim. That includes a record of symptoms, medical histories or a review of medical records that later become lost or otherwise unavailable.

The WCAB concluded that even in instances in which an evaluating physician is no longer available, or the physician’s reporting does not meet minimum standards, generally it should remain in evidence and be accorded its appropriate evidentiary weight.