Medical Treatment; Child Care Services. WCAB, rescinding WCJ's finding, held that applicant who suffered industrial injuries and was awarded child care services as part of his medical treatment award, was entitled to select his own child care provider and was not required to use child care provider of defendant's choosing, when WCAB found that (1) child care services are awarded as medical treatment and are highly personnel services comparable to physician-patient relationships, and should be afforded equal deference as shown in Labor Code, regulations, and case law, (2) there was no showing in this case that child care provider selected by applicant, who had cared for applicant's children for seven years, was defective in any way or that conditions had changed so as to require a new provider, (3) applicant's nurse case manager testified that it was in applicant's best interests to keep his current child care provider with whom his family had an established relationship, (4) fact that defendant pays for applicant's child care services is not a sufficient reason to deprive applicant of right to choose a provider, and (5) defendant provided no convincing rationale for requiring applicant to switch to a licensed and bonded child care provider of its choosing, nor is there any legal requirement that child care services awarded pursuant to Labor Code § 4600 be provided by a licensed and bonded provider. See Fam panel decision.

Reminder: Check the subsequent history of the panel decision before citing to it.

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