Commonwealth Court Confirms WCJ Should Take Limited Evidence On Petition to Review Utilization Review That Is Granted For Lack of Records

In R. Gazzola v. WCAB (Ikon Office Solutions) the Employer's Utilization Review was granted when the treating physician did not provide records. The WCJ dismissed the Claimant's Petition to Review the Utilization Review Determination under County of Allegheny v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Geisler), 875 A.2d 1222 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2005).

The WCJ stated, however, that the better procedure would be to take evidence on whether the treating physician had an excuse for not providing records.

I presumed this authority in my post on Geisler on June 6, 2005.

The Court endorsed the procedure as stated by the WCJ. The WCJ may take evidence on whether there was an excuse for the failure to provide records, and if there is a reasonable excuse, the WCJ may Order that the URO be performed on the treatment at issue.