Chavez v. Bob Baffert Racing Stable, Inc. (2023 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 363)

The WCAB held that an applicant’s claim was not barred by the Statute of Limitations in LC §5405 when it was originally filed as a specific injury, but the medical evidence established it as a CT injury.

On Dec. 4, 2020, the applicant filed an Application, alleging a specific injury July 8, 2019, to the left knee.  On July 13, 2021, the applicant was evaluated by an AME who concluded that the knee injury was caused by cumulative work activities.

The WCAB explained that workers’ compensation pleadings may be amended to conform to proof, based on evidence submitted at trial. The WCAB found that the AME’s reports were the only medical evidence in the record, and they established that he sustained a CT injury.

The WCAB concluded that because the earliest date the applicant would have been aware that his knee disability was result of a CT was July 13, 2021, the day he was examined by AME, his injury claim was not barred by the Statute of Limitations.