Workers' Compensation Appeals Board Limits Application of Collateral Estoppel in Body Part Injury Claims
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The doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel can bar parties from re-litigating claims and issues that were decided previously in workers' compensation proceedings. Res judicata, or claim preclusion, acts to bar claims that were, or should have been, advanced in a previous suit involving the same parties. It arises if a second suit: (1) involves the same cause of action; (2) is between the same parties; and (3) occurs after a final judgment on the merits. (DKN Holdings LLC v. Faerber (2015) 61 Cal. 4th 813, 824.)