As the Legislature printed it
DIVISION 4. WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND INSURANCE [3200 - 6002] · PART 1. SCOPE AND OPERATION [3200 - 4418] · CHAPTER 7. Medical Examinations [4050 - 4068] · ARTICLE 2. Determination of Medical Issues [4060 - 4068]
(a) Any party may provide to the qualified medical evaluator selected from a panel any of the following information: (1) Records prepared or maintained by the employee’s treating physician or physicians. (2) Medical and nonmedical records relevant to determination of the medical issue. (b) Information that a party proposes to provide to the qualified medical evaluator selected from a panel shall be served on the opposing party 20 days before the information is provided to the evaluator. If the opposing party objects to consideration of nonmedical records within 10 days thereafter, the records shall not be provided to the evaluator. Either party may use discovery to establish the accuracy or authenticity of nonmedical records prior to the evaluation. (c) If an agreed medical evaluator is selected, as part of their agreement on an evaluator, the parties shall agree on what information is to be provided to the agreed medical evaluator. (d) In any formal medical evaluation, the agreed or qualified medical evaluator shall identify the following: (1) All information received from the parties. (2) All information reviewed in preparation of the report. (3) All information relied upon in the formulation of his or her opinion. (e) All communications with a qualified medical evaluator selected from a panel before a medical evaluation shall be in writing and shall be served on the opposing party 20 days in advance of the evaluation. Any subsequent communication with the medical evaluator shall be in writing and shall be served on the opposing party when sent to the medical evaluator. (f) Communications with an agreed medical evaluator shall be in writing, and shall be served on the opposing party when sent to the agreed medical evaluator. Oral or written communications with physician staff or, as applicable, with the agreed medical evaluator, relative to nonsubstantial matters such as the scheduling of appointments, missed appointments, the furnishing of records and reports, and the availability of the report, do not constitute ex parte communication in violation of this section unless the appeals board has made a specific finding of an impermissible ex parte communication. (g) Ex parte communication with an agreed medical evaluator or a qualified medical evaluator selected from a panel is prohibited. If a party communicates with the agreed medical evaluator or the qualified medical evaluator in violation of subdivision (e), the aggrieved party may elect to terminate the medical evaluation and seek a new evaluation from another qualified medical evaluator to be selected according to Section 4062.1 or 4062.2, as applicable, or proceed with the initial evaluation. (h) The party making the communication prohibited by this section shall be subject to being charged with contempt before the appeals board and shall be liable for the costs incurred by the aggrieved party as a result of the prohibited communication, including the cost of the medical evaluation, additional discovery costs, and attorney’s fees for related discovery. (i) Subdivisions (e) and (g) shall not apply to oral or written communications by the employee or, if the employee is deceased, the employee’s dependent, in the course of the examination or at the request of the evaluator in connection with the examination. (j) Upon completing a determination of the disputed medical issue, the medical evaluator shall summarize the medical findings on a form prescribed by the administrative director and shall serve the formal medical evaluation and the summary form on the employee and the employer. The medical evaluation shall address all contested medical issues arising from all injuries reported on one or more claim forms prior to the date of the employee’s initial appointment with the medical evaluator. (k) If, after a medical evaluation is prepared, the employer or the employee subsequently objects to any new medical issue, the parties, to the extent possible, shall utilize the same medical evaluator who prepared the previous evaluation to resolve the medical dispute. (l) No disputed medical issue specified in subdivision (a) may be the subject of declaration of readiness to proceed unless there has first been an evaluation by the treating physician or an agreed or qualified medical evaluator.
How panels applied this section
Newest released decisions whose legal-standard extraction named this section. Each quotes the passage and links to the official PDF. Unofficial guide — not legal advice.
- ADJ15732786 · 2026-05-22 · Lodi District Office§ 4062.3
Determinative passage · p.10Section 4062.3 describes information to be provided to a QME and states in relevant part:
The WCJ must determine and explain which materials should be reviewed by the QME and identify them with particularity.
Official decision · page 10 → - ADJ11426237 · 2026-03-05 · Lodi District Office§ 4062.3
Determinative passage · p.6We begin our analysis by observing that section 4062.3, subd. (k) provides that, "If, after a medical evaluation is prepared, the employer or the employee subsequently objects to any new medical issue, the parties, to the extent possible, shall utilize the same medical evaluator who prepared the previous evaluation to resolve the medical dispute." (Lab. Code, § 4062.3(k).)
Applied to require use of same QME for reevaluations unless justified
Official decision · page 6 → - ADJ17842228 · 2026-01-12 · Los Angeles District Office§ 4062.3
Determinative passage · p.6Section 4062.3 requires service upon an AME as follows: (f) Communications with an agreed medical evaluator shall be in writing, and shall be served on the opposing party when sent to the agreed medical evaluator. Oral or written communications with physician staff or, as applicable, with the agreed medical evaluator, relative to nonsubstantial matters such as the scheduling of appointments, missed appointments, the furnishing of records and reports, and the availability of the report, do not constitute ex parte communication in violation of this section unless the appeals board has made a specific finding of an impermissible ex parte communication.
Defendant's failure to serve applicant's correct address constituted impermissible ex parte communication.
Official decision · page 6 → - ADJ16327959 · 2025-12-26 · Sacramento District Office§ 4062.3
Determinative passage · p.17There is no ambiguity in the language of the statute. The plain language of Lab. Code section 4062.3 allows communication by the applicant during an evaluation, including the showing of a video. There is no basis for a replacement of AME Hatch.
Applied to find the video shown during the AME evaluation was permissible communication and did not warrant replacement of the AME.
Official decision · page 17 → - ADJ16326594 · 2025-10-31 · Marina Del Rey District Office§ 4062.3
Determinative passage · p.8Code, § 4062.3(i).) Accordingly, applicant's email was ex parte contact proscribed by section 4062.3(g).
The applicant's email was an ex parte communication proscribed by section 4062.3(g), requiring replacement of the QME panel.
Official decision · page 8 → - ADJ19297551 · 2025-10-28 · San Francisco District Office§ 4062.3
Determinative passage · p.1Defendants filed a Joint Petition for Removal or Reconsideration (Petition) of the Opinion and Order Granting Petition for Reconsideration and Decision After Reconsideration, issued on August 11, 2025 (Prior Opinion). In the Prior Opinion, the Appeals Board granted applicant's petition for reconsideration; rescinded the May 9, 2025 Findings and Order issued by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ); and substituted new Findings and Order wherein the Appeals Board found, in relevant part, that the April 19, 2024 report of David Tarin, M.D., may be submitted to the Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME) Daniel Bressler, M.D., pursuant to Labor Code section 4062.3(a)(2) 1, and ordered that Dr. Tarin's report shall be sent to the QME.
Permitting submission of Dr. Tarin's report to the QME Dr. Bressler.
Official decision · page 1 → - ADJ11565056 · 2025-10-23 · Marina Del Rey District Office§ 4062.3
Determinative passage · p.1Applicant contends that the qualified medical evaluator (QME) should be replaced because defendant failed to serve a communication upon applicant 20 days in advance pursuant to Labor Code1 section 4062.3(e).
Applied to assess timeliness of communication service to applicant
Official decision · page 1 → - ADJ13381754 · 2025-10-13 · Van Nuys District Office§ 4062.3
Determinative passage · p.8We observe that the language of Labor Code section 4062.3(a) is fairly expansive with respect to what medical records may be provided to the qualified medical evaluator. Labor Code section 4062.3 provides in relevant part, as follows:
Applied to support admission of defense exhibits K and L as relevant medical records requested by PQME.
Official decision · page 8 →
All 47 decisions naming § 4062.3 →
The rules written under this section
A statute says what is owed; Title 8 says by when, on what form, and what happens if the deadline passes. These name § 4062.3as what they implement.
- 8 CCR § 1Definitions.
- 8 CCR § 11.5Disability Evaluation Report Writing Course.
- 8 CCR § 30QME Panel Requests.
- 8 CCR § 31.5QME Replacement Requests.
- 8 CCR § 31.7Obtaining Additional QME Panel in a Different Specialty.
- 8 CCR § 35Exchange of Information and Ex Parte Communications.
- 8 CCR § 41Ethical Requirements.
- 8 CCR § 55Reappointment: Continuing Education Programs. For Applications Received Before April 1, 2026.
- 8 CCR § 55.1Reappointment: Continuing Education Programs.
- 8 CCR § 60Discipline.
Also on this
Unofficial guide — not legal advice. The statute is the state’s text. The quotes are litigated applications, not a prediction.
About California Labor Code § 4062.3
What is California Labor Code § 4062.3?
Labor Code § 4062.3 sits in ARTICLE 2. Determination of Medical Issues [4060 - 4068]. The statute on this page begins: (a) Any party may provide to the qualified medical evaluator selected from a panel any of the following information: (1) Records prepared. The official display is on LegInfo; this is a reprint.
Did WCAB panels apply Labor Code § 4062.3 in this corpus?
This corpus has 47 released decisions whose extracted legal standards named § 4062.3. Quotes and PDFs are on this page. That is not every case in California that ever cited the section.