County of Los Angeles v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Opinion

ASHBY, J.

Petitioner County of Los Angeles (County) contends respondent Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (Board) erred in the method it calculated a 10 percent penalty against County pursuant to Labor Code section 5814 1 for County’s unreasonable delay in providing permanent disability payments to respondent injured worker, Charles Crowe. In light of Gallamore v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1979) 23 Cal.3d 815 [153 Cal.Rptr. 590, 591 P.2d 1242], we find merit to County’s contention.

I

The issue here is not whether a penalty should be assessed but rather how the 10 percent penalty…