April Williams was employed by The Home Depot. In 2003, she was injured on the job. Williams claimed workers’ compensation benefits and in December 2005, the parties signed a “Stipulation and Award and/or Order” by which The Home Depot agreed to provide “benefits and treatment [to Williams] in accordance with the opinions of the AME, Dr. Abeliuk.” Thereafter, Williams received medical treatment, including surgeries;
Williams disagrees that her condition is permanent and stationary, and claims she was “forced” to settle her claim; She made several appeals to the WCAB but the case has not resolved.
She then filed a pro-per request for removal of her case to the superior court,
Williams claimed in her civil action that the WCAB failed to require that she receive prompt and adequate medical treatment; She also claimed the WCAB allowed The Home Depot to hold her in involuntary servitude; Williams asserted that removal of her pending workers’ compensation matter to the superior court was necessary because she is mentally disabled, Her requests to the Department of Industrial Relations for reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act were not granted, and hence she claims her due process and civil rights have been violated;
Following a hearing, the trial court denied the request for removal, concluding that it has no jurisdiction over the matter. Williams appealed. The Court of Appeal sustained the dismissal in the unpublished case of Williams v. Home Depo.
The Court of Appeal concluded that the “trial court correctly ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to remove the workers’ compensation matter to the superior court.”
Labor Code 5955 provides, “No court of this state, except the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal to the extent herein specified, has jurisdiction to review, reverse, correct, or annul any order, rule, decision, or award of the [WCAB], or to suspend or delay the operation or execution thereof, or to restrain, enjoin, or interfere with the appeals board in the performance of its duties,” and gives the appellate courts the power to issue a writ of mandate “in all proper cases.”