SIERRA PACIFIC INDUSTRIES v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD
Filed 6/30/06
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
COPY
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
(Sacramento)
----
| SIERRA PACIFIC INDUSTRIES, Petitioner, v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD et al., Respondents. |
C050589
(WCAB No. SAC0330818)
|
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING; Petition for Writ of Review. Annulled and remanded for further proceedings.
Pursley, Rush & Wesley, Roy W. Wesley and Alisha E. Pritchard for Petitioner.
Jack Perko for Gibraltar Electro Medical Services, Amicus Curiae, on behalf of Petitioner.
Brissman & Associates and Jon C. Brissman for Respondent Placerville Chiropractic & Sports Clinic.
No appearance for Respondents.
Katten, Muchin, and Rosenman, Alan D. Croll, Laurence G. Solov and Jennifer L. Lallite for West Coast Surgery Centers Management, LLC, Amicus Curiae on behalf of WCAB, State of California, Corey Chatham and Lee K. Kenney, D.C.; and David Bryan Leonard for California Society Of Industrial Medicine & Surgery, Inc., Amicus Curiae on behalf of WCAB.
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) petitions for a writ of review to determine the lawfulness of an award and an order denying reconsideration in a proceeding before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). Corey Chatman, a truck driver for SPI, sought adjudication of his claim after he sustained injuries when his logging truck tipped over. Most of the issues were resolved by a compromise and release; a hearing was held on the lien held by Chatman's chiropractor for chiropractic treatment. The WCAB found the treatment reasonable and necessary through February 26, 2004, and denied SPI's petition for reconsideration.
At issue is the applicability of certain provisions of Senate Bill No. 899 (2003-2004 Reg. Sess.) (SB 899), which amended Labor Code section 4600 to adopt guidelines for reasonably required medical treatment. (Stats. 2004, ch. 34, § 23.) SB 899 went into effect immediately as urgency legislation on April 19, 2004, (Stats. 2004, ch. 34, § 49), almost two months after the conclusion of Chatman's treatment.
We conclude the provisions of SB 899 setting forth new guidelines for the determination of reasonable medical treatment apply to this case. The provisions of SB 899 â€
