Barr v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Opinion

RAYE, J.

The dispositive issue presented by these consolidated petitions for review is whether the authority of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) to award costs for the preparation of a vocational rehabilitation consultant’s report depends on the report’s admissibility as evidence under Labor Code section 5703. The workers’ compensation judge denied applicant Jim Barr’s costs because he found the report was inadmissible. The WCAB affirmed. A different judge, however, determined the expense of a report prepared by the same consultant for applicant Bradley Dorigo was…