Workers’ Compensation · Primary-source case analysis

Baglione: A Pre-2005 Medical Report Had to Indicate Permanent Disability

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published April 25, 2026

Baglione construed a transition rule deciding whether the 1997 or 2005 permanent-disability schedule governed an injury occurring before 2005.

The transition statute listed specific exceptions

Labor Code section 4660(d) generally applied the 2005 schedule to ratings made after its effective date, but preserved the former schedule when a qualifying pre-2005 medical report indicated permanent disability or a notice duty arose.

A report’s existence was not enough

The Board rejected its earlier conclusion that any comprehensive medical-legal report before 2005 triggered the exception. The report had to indicate the existence of permanent disability.

Treating-physician reports could also qualify

The statutory text did not limit the exception to comprehensive medical-legal reports. A treating physician’s report could satisfy the rule if it contained the required indication before January 1, 2005.

Disposition

The WCAB reversed its prior en banc ruling and returned the matter for application of the clarified standard. The holding concerns the former transition provision rather than current schedule selection.

Key takeaways

• Identify the precise pre-2005 report relied upon.
• Read what the report says about permanent disability.
• Distinguish medical-legal and treating reports from other records.
• Apply the statutory transition language in effect for the claim.