State Comp. Ins. Fund v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.

229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 506, 20 Cal. App. 5th 796
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedJanuary 30, 2018
DocketH044300
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 506 (State Comp. Ins. Fund v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Comp. Ins. Fund v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd., 229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 506, 20 Cal. App. 5th 796 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

BAMATTRE-MANOUKIAN, J.

*799I. INTRODUCTION

*508Respondent Jose A. Guzman, a construction laborer, was operating a compactor when he was injured. The compactor, which is used to pack down soil, hit a rock while Guzman was working on a hillside with a 45-degree slope. The compactor rose in the air, caused Guzman to fall backwards, and then fell on top of him. The workers' compensation judge (WCJ) determined that Guzman sustained an injury to his back and psyche, and that the *800psychiatric injury was caused by a "sudden and extraordinary employment condition." ( Lab. Code, § 3208.3, subd, (d).)1 Petitioner State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF), the workers' compensation carrier for Guzman's employer, petitioned for reconsideration. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (Board) denied reconsideration.

SCIF filed a petition for writ of review. SCIF contends that Guzman failed to meet his burden of proving that his psychiatric injury was caused by a "sudden and extraordinary employment condition." ( § 3208.3, subd. (d).)

For reasons that we will explain, we agree with SCIF. Accordingly, we will annul the Board's order denying reconsideration.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Facts

Guzman, who was the only witness at the hearing before the WCJ, testified that he had been employed by Carmel Valley Construction as a laborer for a little less than six months before he was injured on the job. His normal job duties included digging, compacting, and moving materials around the construction site. A compactor, which is used to pack down soil, has a bar around it, and Guzman would hold on to the bar while operating it. The compactor that Guzman used at the time of the accident weighed 95 pounds. He had been using that compactor for most of the week before the accident.

Guzman had worked as a construction laborer for approximately 12 years before he started working Carmel Valley Construction. In his prior work, he used a compactor approximately every week.

On May 2, 2008, Guzman used the compactor for most of the day on a flat surface. About a half hour before the accident, he began using the compactor on a hillside. There had been digging on the hillside, and pipe was laid down. Guzman used the compactor to pack the dirt covering the pipe. He had only worked on flat surfaces previously.

The slope was approximately seven feet long and he "was working on a 45-degree angle." The accident occurred after he had been working on the slope for about half an hour. He had been using the compactor *509for approximately four feet of the slope and was approximately half-way up the slope.

The compactor struck a rock in the soil. The compactor rose in the air and caused Guzman to fall backwards. The compactor then fell on top of him.

*801Guzman sustained a back injury and had two back surgeries. He also sustained a psychiatric injury for which he sought treatment.

Guzman had used compactors for approximately 12 years. He never thought there was any risk of injury while using the compactor, and he never felt he was in danger of having a compactor fall on him before the accident. He had not had a prior accident or any "close calls" involving potential injury while using a compactor. He had never heard of a compactor falling on top of someone. He had never previously lost control of a compactor, and he never had any work injuries before this accident.

B. The WCJ's Findings and Award

The WCJ determined that Guzman sustained an injury to his back and psyche arising out of his employment, and that the psychiatric injury was caused by a sudden and extraordinary employment condition. In reaching this determination, the WCJ referred to the following evidence: Guzman had never been injured by having a compactor fall on him, he had never experienced such an incident before, there was no evidence that this type of injury had occurred in a similar fashion before, Guzman never had any close calls involving an injury when using a compactor, he never had an accident using a compactor before, and he never thought there was any risk of injury while using the compactor. The WCJ concluded that "having a compactor fall on top of an employee is not something that would reasonably be expected to occur. This type of injury is not a frequent, regular, or routine part of the job. In fact, there is no evidence that having a compactor fall on an employee had ever occurred before. For this reason, it is reasonable to find that this injury was not something that could have been anticipated. This was not the type of injury that would be foreseeable." The WCJ made an award in favor of Guzman for all medical treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the effects of the injury, including medical treatment for the psychiatric injury.

C. SCIF's Petition for Reconsideration

SCIF petitioned for reconsideration, arguing that Guzman failed to meet his burden of proving that his psychiatric injury was caused by a sudden and extraordinary employment event. SCIF contended that Guzman's injury was caused by the compactor striking a rock in the soil, which was a "typical hazard" in construction. SCIF argued that it was "foreseeable" that soil will contain rocks, that a compactor will recoil when contacting rocks, and that a construction worker will sustain injury under these circumstances. SCIF contended that Guzman's injury-free 12-year work history did "not transform his injury into something extraordinary."

Guzman filed an answer to the petition. He contended that it was SCIF's burden to prove that he was injured by an obvious hazard. Guzman argued *802that there was undisputed evidence that operating a compactor on a steep slope and having it fall on top of the worker was not a common, usual, or expected condition of employment. He also contended that foreseeability of the risk was not the proper standard, and that there was no evidence to support SCIF's argument that the manner in which he was injured was foreseeable. *510D. The WCJ's Report and Recommendation

The WCJ issued a report recommending that SCIF's petition for reconsideration be denied. The WCJ stated that Guzman sustained a back injury from the accident, and that an agreed medical examiner concluded that Guzman suffered from depression that was predominantly caused by the work injury.

The WCJ explained that, based on Guzman's "credible and uncontradicted testimony," his psychiatric injury was caused by a sudden and extraordinary employment condition.

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Bluebook (online)
229 Cal. Rptr. 3d 506, 20 Cal. App. 5th 796, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-comp-ins-fund-v-workers-comp-appeals-bd-calctapp5d-2018.