Often times as a work comp defense lawyer, you know the deck is stacked against you. You know that the law and the judge and the WCAB, the entire system is in place to err on the side of providing benefits to injured workers. In other words, you rarely feel like you are supposed to win.

That's what made this case, the trial, and ultimately the take nothing more stressful, and more relieving than any prior trial and Take Nothing decision I've obtained. In this case, I had video evidence that refuted directly the assault that the applicant was alleging took place during her employment as a gas station cashier. Despite being confident that no judge could watch the video and believe the applicant, there was always still that nagging doubt in the back of my sub-conscience. "This is work comp."

Fortunately for me, the employer was on top of everything, and in addition to providing the video, I made sure they provided the head of IT who copied the video to authenticate the version shown at trial, I had the head of security for the company to testify to the inconsistencies the applicant had between her original reporting and later version of events, and I had the security officer who denied ever assaulting the applicant.

Despite being this prepared, until I received the decision, I just wasn't sure. After all, "this is work comp!"