The AAI StandardAAI-STD 1 · Edition 1.8 · Public draft

The Case File

California Workers' Compensation profile of the AAI Standard for the legal case file

How every document in a case file — whatever arrives by mail, fax, e-mail, e-service or a portal, and whatever the firm itself writes, files or assembles — goes behind one of fifteen tabs, is named to one grammar, is clipped with its due date, and is reported to the right person; in enough detail to keep a case file by hand from this page alone.

Edition 1.8 · 28 August 2026 · Prepared for the AAI presentation at the California Lawyers Association, December 2026

About this standard. Published by AAI at standards.aai.dev as a public draft for comment (edition 1.8, 28 August 2026). It is the California workers' compensation profile of the AAI Standard for the legal case file: how every document in a case file is placed, named, clipped with its due date, and reported. Comments and corrections are welcome at standards@aai.dev; every one improves the next version.

Legal information, not legal advice. The standard cites statutes, regulations and decisions so the reader can check them; it creates no attorney-client relationship and is offered as is, without warranty. Every name, doctor and party in the examples is fictional.

How this document is arranged

It opens with the clerk's one-page sheet — the desk itself, enough to handle any document by hand — and everything after it is the reasoning behind that page. Section 1 states the idea: a case file is a brown folder with fifteen tabs, and every document is settled by three questions — which tab it goes behind, what is clipped to it, and who is told. Section 2 defines the fifteen tabs, and section 3 walks a single document through the procedure, step by step — however it entered the file. Three sections then govern the name: the naming grammar, the controlled TYPE vocabulary and its EAMS identity, and worked examples for every tab. Section 7 sets out the clocks — each due item, the date it runs from, and its authority — and section 8 the rules that hold across every tab — including how a UR denial becomes an IMR packet — with the Appeals Board's en banc decisions that shape them. Section 9 is the pocket: the decisions only a person makes. The closing sections say how the folder is measured, where it runs, how a case system carries a tab, a clip and a note, and how every citation was verified.

The clerk's one-page sheet

Print this page. Everything below it is the reasoning; this is the desk. Every clock here is an abbreviation of section 7, which is the authority.

Tab	The document is…	Clip (from which date)	Tell
1 Claim & Denials	claim form; claim accepted / denied / delayed	90 days from the claim form (75 for a presumptive injury — the attorney says) → presumed compensable; the one-year / five-year statute, the attorney's date	attorney
2 Pleadings & Orders	application; answer; petition; any Board order except one approving or disapproving a settlement (14); Findings & Award; Report & Recommendation; Order Suspending Action	any order → 20 days from service (+5 / +10 / +20 by address; personal service adds nothing) — the attorney says reconsideration or removal; R&R → the Board's 60 days from transmission; OSA → answer it	attorney
3 Hearings	notice of hearing; DOR; minutes; pre-trial statement; proof of service	the hearing date; prep a week before; the MSC closes discovery	attorney
4 Correspondence	letters to and from carrier / defense / client; an administrator writing for an unnamed client	reply-by date on the letter; undisclosed liable entity → request disclosure	case manager; attorney on the disclosure
5 Treating Medical	PR-2; records; RFA; operative; imaging (a P&S report is 7)	outstanding records; 20 days from receipt (30 unrepresented) to object to a treating determination	nobody; attorney on a determination that changes benefits
6 Med-Legal Scheduling	QME panel; strike; appointment; AME agreement; the other side's proposed records to the evaluator	strike 10 days from assignment (+5 by mail); then 10 business days to schedule; 90 / 120 days from the appointment request; their records → 10 days to object; ours → served 20 days before they go	case manager; attorney on the strike, an objection, or anything going to the evaluator
7 Med-Legal Reports	QME / PQME / AME; P&S (PR-3 or PR-4); supplemental	report due 30 days from exam (+15 good cause); a treating P&S → 20 days from receipt to object; supplemental by the attorney's date, before the MSC; rate it	attorney
8 UR	UR approval / denial / modification / deferral / delay	denial or mod → IMR 30 days from service on the employee (10 formulary); deferral / delay → no clock; repeat when liability clears	case manager; attorney on every denial or modification
9 IMR	notice of assignment; request for information; determination	NOA → supporting records 15 days (12 electronic; 10 formulary; 24 h expedited); RFI → its date	case manager; attorney on an overturn, or an uphold of surgery, homecare or a device
10 Benefits Notices	TD/PD notices; PD advance; offer of work; SJDB voucher	verify the rate; offer of work → attorney the same day	case manager; attorney on the offer
11 Money	checks; EOBs; mileage payments; penalties; med-legal bills	reconcile	bookkeeping
12 Depositions & Discovery	depo notice; transcript; written discovery	depo date (≥10 days after service of the notice; ≥20 after a records subpoena issues); response by the date on the request, else the attorney's	attorney
13 Subpoenas & Records	SDT; subpoena; SDT return; records request; authorization	production date (≥20 days from issuance / 15 from service, the later); custodian 15 days from receipt; what is outstanding	paralegal
14 Settlement	C&R; Stips; Award; order approving; MSA	every AME, QME and treating report bearing on adequacy filed with it; 20 days from service of the award; payment by the order's date, else a 30-day check	attorney
15 Liens	lien claim; lien conference notice	conference date (appear, or the lien is dismissed or deferred); lien filed within 18 months of the date the services were provided?	paralegal; attorney on a late lien
cover — Client & Intake	contact, DOB, occupation, wages, designation, authorizations, fee agreement, demographics sheet	returned mail → fix the address	case manager
pocket	the reasons in section 9 — unreadable or undated; two documents in one scan; no case; two cases; the firm's own records for the evaluator; not a case at all	a person decides today	the person section 9 names

Three checks before anything is filed: one document? — the document's own date? — two identifiers agree on the case? If any answer is no, it goes in the pocket.

1. The idea: a brown folder, three questions

A workers' compensation case file has always been an accordion folder with labeled tabs. Every piece of paper goes behind exactly one tab; the due items are clipped to the inside cover; anyone can pick the file up and know where things are. The case file is that folder, and nothing more — incoming mail is only the most frequent way a document reaches it. For every document there are three questions:

1. Which tab? — what kind of document this is.
2. What is clipped to it? — the due item, if any: the clock, the date it runs from, what happens when it ends.
3. Who needs to know it is there? — one of five answers: the attorney, the case manager, the paralegal, bookkeeping, or nobody. "Told" columns below use only those. The clerk — whoever runs intake that day — is the one doing the work, never an answer to the third question.

Everything else — how the document is read, matched to its case, named, filed, verified — is procedure in service of those three answers. A piece that cannot be answered goes in the pocket (section 9) for a person; nobody guesses. Two words are used throughout: the queue is everything that has entered and is not yet filed; the pocket is the part of the queue the procedure could not finish, each piece with its reason.

2. The fifteen tabs

Tabs are in the order a file is read. "Told" names a role; the firm's own people fill the roles. "Produces" is the artifact the tab leaves behind besides the filed document.

#	Tab	What goes behind it	What is clipped to it	Told	Produces
1	Claim & Denials	claim form, acceptance, denial or delay of the claim itself, 90-day letters	objection / DOR; the 90-day presumption date, which runs from the claim form, not the letter (75 days for the presumptive injuries of LC 3212–3213.2 — the attorney says whether the injury is one); the statute: one year to commence proceedings, five years for new and further disability (the attorney sets it)	attorney	task: objection; calendar: 90-day date; calendar: statute
2	Pleadings & Orders	application, amended application, the answer, petitions, Board orders, Findings & Award, the judge's Report & Recommendation, an Order Suspending Action	any Board order → 20 days from service (+5 / +10 / +20 by the address served; personal service adds nothing) — the clerk clips the 20 days either way, and the attorney says whether the petition is reconsideration (a final order) or removal (an interlocutory one); an R&R → the Board's 60 days to act run from transmission; an OSA → answer with the information asked for, or expect a hearing; other orders → their response dates	attorney	calendar: recon deadline; task: response
3	Hearings	notices of hearing (MSC, trial, expedited), the firm's own DORs and their confirmations, minutes, pre-trial statements, proofs of service	the hearing date and time; prep due one week before; an MSC closes discovery — anything still wanted (a supplemental, a deposition, records) is ordered before it	attorney	calendar: hearing; task: prep
4	Correspondence	letters to and from carrier, defense, client; general notices; representation letters; letters from a third-party administrator	reply-by dates when the letter states one; an administrator that has not disclosed its client (carrier or self-insured employer) and any high-retention or deductible provision → request the disclosure	case manager; attorney on an undisclosed liable entity	task: reply; task: disclosure request (section 8a, Coldiron)
5	Treating Medical	PR-2 progress reports, treating reports, records, RFAs, operative reports, imaging (a treating physician's P&S report — PR-3 or PR-4 — is Tab 7)	outstanding records requests; 20 days from receipt (30 if unrepresented) to object to a treating physician's medical determination	nobody; attorney on any determination that changes benefits (P&S, work status, a treatment the carrier will deny) — the attorney decides whether to object	task: objection (when the attorney says so)

#	Tab	What goes behind it	What is clipped to it	Told	Produces
6	Med-Legal Scheduling	QME panel list, strike, appointment notices, AME agreements, cancellations, advocacy letters, the opposing party's proposed records or communications to the evaluator	10-day strike (+5 by mail) from panel assignment, then 10 business days to schedule the evaluation; the appointment (client told, interpreter, transport); 90 / 120 days from the appointment request (no appointment → waiver or replacement panel); 10 days to object to the other side's nonmedical records; the firm's own records to the evaluator served on the other side 20 days before they go, every communication in writing and served	case manager; attorney on the strike, an objection, or anything going to the evaluator	calendar: appointment; task: notify the client, interpreter, transport (case manager); task: strike; task: objection; proof of service on what we send
7	Med-Legal Reports	QME, PQME, AME, the treating physician's P&S report (PR-3 or PR-4), supplementals, re-evaluations	the report is due 30 days from the exam (+15 for good cause) — a late report gives either party a new evaluation; a treating P&S → 20 days from receipt to object; objection / supplemental request otherwise by the attorney's date (no statutory period; discovery closes at the MSC); rate it; deposition of the evaluator	attorney	rating (the attorney, or the paralegal the attorney names); task: objection or supplemental
8	UR	utilization review approvals, denials, modifications, deferrals, delays	denial or modification → 30-day IMR appeal from service of the decision on the employee (10 days for a formulary dispute); a `UR-DENIAL` whose Descriptor is `Deferral` or `Delay` gets no IMR clock — deferral → repeat the request when liability is settled; delay → wait for the decision	case manager; attorney on every denial or modification	IMR packet (denial/mod); note (deferral)
9	IMR	notices of assignment, requests for information, decisions, the firm's own appeal packets	NOA → supporting records within 15 days (12 if the notice was electronic; 10 for a formulary drug; 24 hours on an expedited review); RFI → respond by its date; decision → overturned: treatment authorized; upheld: next medical step	case manager; attorney on an overturn, or an uphold of surgery, homecare or a device	task: supporting records (NOA); task on an RFI; note on the case (IMR status)
10	Benefits Notices	TD start/stop/rate, PD advances, offer of modified/alternative work, SJDB voucher, mileage-rate notices (a mileage payment or EOB is Tab 11)	the amount or rate to verify; an offer of work moves PD ±15% for 2005–2012 injuries and decides the SJDB voucher for 2013+ injuries — and only a bona fide offer counts: regular work (equivalent wages) or modified / alternative work (≥85% of wages), within a reasonable commute, as § 4658.1 defines them — and, for 2013+ injuries, lasting at least 12 months (§ 4658.7(b)(2)) and made within the § 4658.7(b)(1) window; a defective offer means the voucher is owed	case manager; attorney on an offer of work	task: verify; note on the case (rating facts)
11	Money	checks, EOBs, mileage payments, penalty payments, med-legal bills	trust handling; amounts to reconcile	bookkeeping	ledger entry

#	Tab	What goes behind it	What is clipped to it	Told	Produces
12	Depositions & Discovery	deposition notices, transcripts, written discovery requests	deposition date (at least 10 days after service of the notice; 20 after a records subpoena issues); response date — the date on the request, else the attorney sets it	attorney	calendar: deposition; task: response
13	Subpoenas & Records	subpoenas duces tecum, subpoenas, SDT returns, records requests, authorizations	production date (no earlier than 20 days from issuance or 15 from service, the later); the custodian has 15 days from receipt; what is still outstanding	paralegal	task: response; records log
14	Settlement	C&R, Stipulations with Request for Award, the Award, order approving, MSA	every AME, QME and treating report bearing on adequacy is filed with the settlement (Tabs 5 and 7 feed this tab; nothing withheld); recon window after the award; payment due date; a disputed fee may be held in trust while the C&R is approved	attorney	calendar: recon; task: payment check
15	Liens	lien claims, lien conference notices, lien claimant correspondence, lien resolutions	lien conference date (appear, or the lien is dismissed or deferred); whether the lien was filed within 18 months of the date the services were provided (3 years for services before July 2013)	paralegal; attorney on a late lien	lien log; task: late-lien objection (when the attorney says so)
cover	Client & Intake	contact, DOB, occupation, wages, representative designation, authorizations, fee agreement, the firm's demographics sheet	the facts a rating or an IMR packet keeps needing; a returned envelope means the address is wrong	case manager	contact update
pocket	Can't tell / not a case	the reasons in section 9: unreadable or undated documents, two documents in one scan, no case found, two cases fit, the firm's own records for the evaluator, and what is not a case at all (firm mail, marketing)	a person decides	the person section 9 names	—

3. Processing a document, step by step

This is the whole procedure. A machine runs it today; a person can run it from this page.

How a document enters the file. It is received — by mail, fax, e-mail, EAMS e-service, a carrier's or the IMR organization's portal, a records return, or from the client's own hands; it is made — a letter, an objection, a petition, a DOR, a settlement draft, an appeal packet the firm writes or assembles; or it is produced — a rating, a chronology, a report the case system generates. The way in changes only steps 1–3 (a received scan is checked for being one document, dated from its face, and matched to its case; the firm's own file is one document by construction and knows its case) and never the Source in the name, which names the author — what the firm makes carries Applicant, the party it acts for. The tab, the clip, the person told and the proof are the same for all three.

Received: open the scan and check it is one document. Made or produced: one document by construction — go to step 2. A scan that changes letterhead, claimant, or date mid-way is two documents: it goes to the pocket, a person confirms the page where the second begins, the scan is cut there, and each part re-enters at this step as its own piece. Never file a two-document scan as one.
Read the document's own date. The date printed on the letter, report, or order — not the scan date, not the fax header, not a date of birth. A made document's date is the date it is signed or sent, never its draft date. If a received document carries no date, it is a pocket item.
Identify the case. The claimant's name, the claim number, the ADJ number, the date of injury, the employer. Two identifiers must agree. One case matching one identifier while another identifier disagrees is a pocket item, not a match. Two open cases for the same claimant is a pocket item unless a claim number or ADJ number on the document matches exactly one of them. A made or produced document knows its case; for it this step is a check, not a search.
Answer question 1 — the tab. Decide the TYPE code (section 5) from what the document is, never from its filename. The TYPE code decides the tab — or, for the few codes that list several tabs, narrows it to those, and the row's own choice rule picks among them.
Name it to the standard (section 4): YYYY-MM-DD_TYPE_Source_Descriptor.ext. The name says what it is, from whom, and when.
Check the case before filing. Is the same document already there — same name, the same bytes under another name, or (a person's call) the same document in another scan — a mail copy and a fax copy never share bytes? File once. A second copy of the same letter is a note ("second copy received by fax"), never a second filing and never a second clock.
File it to the case under its tab (in the case system: with the tag that belongs to that tab — section 12).
Answer question 2 — the clip. If the tab carries a clock, compute it from the date the clock runs from (section 7), create the calendar event or task, and write the due date on the filing note.
Answer question 3 — who is told. Write one diary note on the case naming the filed document and the role that must see it; the case system notifies that person. Tell nobody where the tab says nobody.
Produce the artifact the tab calls for: the IMR packet, the objection task, the contact update, the rating. An artifact that is itself a document (a packet, a rating) re-enters at step 2 as a made piece and is filed under the grammar.
Verify. Open the case: the document is there under its name, the note is there, the event or task is there. Only then is the piece done. A piece that fails any step stays in the queue with the reason.

Processing time per piece by hand (not drafting or assembly time): two to five minutes where no clock is clipped (Tab 11 and the cover); ten to twenty everywhere else, where a clock or an artifact is produced.

4. The Document Naming Standard

Every filed document is named by this standard's grammar. One grammar, no exceptions — and no filing name exists before filing: a received scan keeps its scanner name and the firm's draft its working name until the three questions are answered.

YYYY-MM-DD_TYPE_Source_Descriptor[_vNN][_pNNofNN].ext

Segment	Rule	Examples
`YYYY-MM-DD`	The document's own date, ISO form. A report's date is its evaluation or signature date; an order's is the date it was issued; a letter's is its letter date. Never the scan date, the received date, or a date of birth. A made document's date is its signed or sent date. An undated received document, after a person's decision in the pocket, carries the postmark or fax-header date, and the note says so.	`2026-07-23`
`TYPE`	One code from the controlled vocabulary (section 5), UPPERCASE, letters/digits/hyphens, at least one letter. The code decides the tab (or narrows it to the tabs its row lists) and carries the EAMS identity.	`AME`, `UR-DENIAL`, `DOR`, `132A`
`Source`	Who the document is from. A physician is `Dr-First-Last`; a party is `Applicant` or `Defense`; an institution is its short name: `Carrier` (or the carrier's name), `WCAB`, `DWC`, `IMR-Org`, `Hospital` (or its name), `Reporter` for a court reporter. Letters, digits, hyphens only. The firm's own outgoing paper carries `Applicant` — the party the firm acts for — and its Descriptor says what it is (`Notice-of-Representation`, `Objection-to-Records`, `Firm-Letter-to-Client`). The Source is the entity as disclosed: a third-party administrator is not the liable party — name the carrier or self-insured employer it administers for once that is disclosed, and until then name the administrator and clip the disclosure request (Tab 4).	`Dr-Jane-Roe`, `Carrier`, `WCAB`
`Descriptor`	What it is, in 1–40 characters of Title-Case words joined by hyphens; acronyms stay UPPERCASE (`PS`, `MRI`, `TD`, `EOB`, `SJDB`). Say the thing, not the tab: `Claim-Denial`, `Offer-of-Modified-Work`, `3rd-Evaluation`. For UR and IMR, the treatment or the outcome: `Surgery`, `Medication`, `Overturned`.	`Findings-and-Award`
`_vNN`	Optional. A later version of the same document from the same source on the same date — an amended report, a corrected order. `_v02` is the second version; the first carries no suffix.	`_v02`
`_pNNofNN`	Optional. A document that arrives in parts (a transcript in two volumes, a record set in three mailings).	`_p01of02`
`.ext`	The real file type, decided from the bytes, lowercase: `pdf`, `docx`, `xlsx`, `jpg`. A Word file named `.pdf` is renamed to what it is.	`.pdf`

Length and content

Target 80 characters; hard maximum 120 (the case system's display-name limit).
Never in a name: the client's name (the case is the client), a claim number, an ADJ number, a Social Security number, the words "copy", "duplicate", "draft", "FINAL", "scan", or a person's staff name (a draft is an unsigned document; a later version is _vNN). Those belong in the filing note.
Providers and carriers are named in the Source — that is what makes a med-legal report findable.
Two documents of the same date, TYPE and Source on one case that differ in kind get different Descriptors (Surgery vs Medication). If nothing distinguishes them, the second is _v02 — and a person confirms it is not the same document twice.

5. The TYPE vocabulary and its EAMS identity

The legal standard behind the names is EAMS — the DWC/WCAB electronic filing system's document types and titles, which EAMS validates on e-filing and JET filing. In an ADJ case a filer may use only four document types — LEGAL DOCS, LIENS AND BILLS, MEDICAL DOCS, MISC — and the title is selected from DWC's Document Titles List, never typed: a title not on the list is not accepted, and a document with no matching title is filed as MISC · CORRESPONDENCE-OTHER (8 CCR 10205.12(b)(3); EAMS e-form filers' guide, incorporated by 8 CCR 10206). A letter to the judge that needs immediate attention is filed under TYPED OR WRITTEN LETTER (it generates a judge task) — a CORR at Tab 2 with that title; ordinary CORRESPONDENCE-OTHER does not. Titles marked Board-issued are generated by the court; a filer may not use AWARD, ORDER or NOTICE OF INTENT. Each TYPE code below pairs with its EAMS document type and title, and where one exists, the DWC or WCAB form number as printed on the form. The pairing is why the same name works for the folder, the case system, and the Board. Checked 2026-08-28 against DWC's own title lists, guides and the forms themselves — section 13 names each.

TYPE	Meaning	Tab	EAMS document type · title	Form
`BENEFITS`	benefit notice (claim accepted/denied/delayed; TD/PD notices; offer of work; SJDB)	1, 10, 11 — the claim itself (acceptance, denial, delay) → 1; a rate, an offer or a voucher → 10; a check → 11	LEGAL DOCS · BENEFIT NOTICE (also NOTICE OF PERMANENT DISABILITY BENEFITS; NOTICE OF TEMPORARY DISABILITY BENEFITS)	—
`APP-ADJ`	application for adjudication (and amended)	2	LEGAL DOCS · APPLICATION FOR ADJUDICATION (death claim: APPLICATION FOR ADJUDICATION OF CLAIM-DEATH)	WCAB 1
`ANSWER`	answer to the application	2	LEGAL DOCS · ANSWER TO APPLICATION FOR ADJUDICATION OF CLAIM	DWC/WCAB Form 10
`PET`	petition (reconsideration, reopen, removal, penalties…) — the exact petition in the Descriptor	2	LEGAL DOCS · the specific petition title — PETITION TO REOPEN · PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION · PETITION TO TERMINATE LIABILITY FOR TEMPORARY DISABILITY INDEMNITY · PETITION FOR COMMUTATION; there is no generic PETITION title — anything else is PETITION - OTHER	WCAB 42 (reopen) / 45 (reconsideration) / 46 (terminate TD) / 49 (commutation)
`ORDER`	an order of the Board (approving, to show cause, dismissal, findings & award, the judge's Report & Recommendation — Board-issued paper on reconsideration)	2, 14 — an order or award approving or disapproving a settlement → 14; everything else → 2	— (Board-issued; not a filer title)	—
`OACR`	proposed order / award	14	LEGAL DOCS · PROPOSED ORDER/AWARD (filed separately from the petition or settlement it goes with)	—
`132A`	Labor Code §132a petition	2	LEGAL DOCS · 132A (defense: ANSWER TO 132A)	—
`SIBTF`	Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund application	2	LEGAL DOCS · APPLICATION FOR SUBSEQUENT INJURIES FUND BENEFITS	DWC form "Application for SIF Benefits" (no WCAB number)

TYPE	Meaning	Tab	EAMS document type · title	Form
`DOR`	declaration of readiness to proceed (regular or expedited)	3	LEGAL DOCS · DECLARATION OF READINESS TO PROCEED; expedited: DECLARATION OF READINESS TO PROCEED TO EXPEDITED HEARING	DWC-CA 10250.1; expedited DWC-WCAB 10208.3
`NOH`	notice of hearing (MSC, trial, expedited, lien conference)	3 (a lien conference → 15)	— (Board-issued)	—
`MSC`	paper specific to a mandatory settlement conference that is neither the notice (`NOH`), the minutes (`MOH`) nor the statement (`PTCS`): a continuance request, an MSC-day settlement worksheet (an MSC order is `ORDER`, Tab 2)	3	— (no EAMS title; if filed, MISC · CORRESPONDENCE-OTHER)	—
`MOH`	minutes of hearing	3	— (Board-issued; the filer's title is PROPOSED MINUTES OF HEARING)	WCAB 20
`PTCS`	pre-trial conference statement	3	LEGAL DOCS · PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT (5 PAGER) — the "(5 PAGER)" is part of the title	WCAB 24
`POS`	proof of service	the tab of the document it serves (3 for a DOR, 6 for records to an evaluator)	LEGAL DOCS · PROOF OF SERVICE	—
`CORR`	correspondence — a letter, or a document that has no code of its own yet (the gaps note)	4 unless the letter is about one of these: to, from or about the evaluator → 6; a rating letter → 7; a payment, EOB or bill → 11; written discovery → 12; a records request → 13; an MSA → 14; a lien claimant → 15; intake, fee or address → cover	MISC · CORRESPONDENCE-OTHER	—
`PR2` / `PR3` / `PR4`	treating physician progress / permanent & stationary reports	PR2 → 5; PR3, PR4 (a P&S report) → 7	MEDICAL DOCS · TREATING PHYSICIAN (PR-2) / P & S REPORT (PR-3, PR-4)	DWC PR-2/3/4
`DFR`	doctor's first report	5	MEDICAL DOCS · TREATING PHYSICIAN	DWC Form 5021
`MEDREC`	medical records, imaging, operative reports, records returned on subpoena	5 (returned on a subpoena → 13)	MEDICAL DOCS · ALL MEDICAL REPORTS	—
`RFA`	request for authorization	5	— (no EAMS title; if filed, MEDICAL DOCS with the report it belongs to)	DWC Form RFA (8 CCR 9785.5)

TYPE	Meaning	Tab	EAMS document type · title	Form
`QME` / `PQME`	QME / panel QME report — `PQME` when the evaluator came from a panel, `QME` otherwise; also the panel, strike and appointment paper (Descriptor says which)	a report → 7; anything else → 6	MEDICAL DOCS · QME REPORTS — the panel letter itself has no title; related filer titles are PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF REPLACEMENT QME PANEL, PETITION TO DISQUALIFY PANEL QME, QME WAIVER	—
`AME`	agreed medical evaluator report; AME agreement and appointment paper	a report → 7; anything else → 6	MEDICAL DOCS · AME REPORTS	—
`UR-APPROVAL` / `UR-MOD` / `UR-DENIAL`	utilization review decision. Deferral and delay are filed as `UR-DENIAL` with Descriptor `Deferral` / `Delay` until the vocabulary gains their own codes (see gaps below). When several match, the most adverse wins: denial over modification over approval.	8	— (no EAMS title for a UR decision; if filed, MISC · CORRESPONDENCE-OTHER)	—
`IMR-APP`	the IMR application / the firm's appeal packet	9	— (no ADJ title; a petition appealing the IMR determination is the attorney's — `PET`, Tab 2 — under the title APPEAL OF DETERMINATION OF AD-IMR)	DWC Form IMR — use the copy the claims administrator served with the UR decision (8 CCR 9792.10.1 names the current revision; never hard-code one)
`IMR-NOA` / `IMR-RFI` / `IMR-DET`	notice of assignment / request for information / determination	9	—	—
`DEPO-NOTICE` / `DEPO-TX`	deposition notice / transcript	12	LEGAL DOCS · DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPT (transcript)	—

TYPE	Meaning	Tab	EAMS document type · title	Form
`SDT` / `SUBPOENA`	subpoena duces tecum / subpoena	13	LEGAL DOCS · SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM (the 2017 list moved it out of MISC) / MISC · SUBPOENA	DWC WCAB 32 / 30
`AUTH` / `HIPAA`	`HIPAA`: the client's blanket release and representative designation signed at intake → cover. `AUTH`: an authorization executed for one specific records request → 13	13 (AUTH), cover (HIPAA)	—	—
`CR`	compromise and release	14	LEGAL DOCS · COMPROMISE AND RELEASE (also …DEPENDENCY CLAIM; THIRD PARTY…; …-SIGNED; AMENDED…)	DWC-CA 10214(c); (d) dependency claim; (e) third party
`STIP`	stipulations with request for award	14	LEGAL DOCS · STIPULATIONS WITH REQUEST FOR AWARD (2013+ injuries: …DOI post 1-1-2013; death: STIPULATION WITH AWARD(DEATH))	DWC-CA 10214(a); (b) death case
`LIEN`	lien claim	15	LIENS AND BILLS · NOTICE AND REQUEST FOR ALLOWANCE OF LIEN	DWC/WCAB Form 6 ($150 filing fee and a declaration under penalty of perjury, LC 4903.05)

Gaps in the vocabulary, marked so they are added rather than improvised: UR deferral and UR delay (today filed as UR-DENIAL + Descriptor); med-legal scheduling paper (today QME/AME + Descriptor); money items (today BENEFITS/CORR + Descriptor); the judge's Report & Recommendation (today ORDER + Descriptor); a rating letter and an MSA (today CORR + Descriptor); the firm's demographics sheet, a chronology and a system-generated report (today CORR + Descriptor). Adding UR-DEFER, UR-DELAY, ML-SCHED, PAYMENT, RR, RATING, MSA, DEMO, CHRONO and REPORT to the standard is a change to the standard and its code together, never to one of them.

6. Naming examples for every tab

All names below are fictional — Dr. Jane Roe as the treating physician, Dr. John Doe as the panel QME, Dr. Richard Roe as the AME, Applicant as the party, generic institutions. In real filing the actual doctor and carrier go in the Source. Dates within a tab are consistent with each other; the tabs are independent illustrations, not one case.

Tab	Names
1 Claim & Denials	`2026-04-02_BENEFITS_Carrier_Claim-Denial.pdf` `2026-04-02_BENEFITS_Carrier_Claim-Delay-90-Day.pdf` `2026-05-20_BENEFITS_Carrier_Claim-Acceptance.pdf`
2 Pleadings & Orders	`2026-07-15_ORDER_WCAB_Suspending-Action.pdf` `2026-08-12_ORDER_WCAB_Report-and-Recommendation.pdf` `2026-03-20_APP-ADJ_Applicant_Application.pdf` `2026-06-11_APP-ADJ_Applicant_Amended-CT.pdf` `2026-07-01_PET_Applicant_Reopen.pdf` `2026-07-15_ORDER_WCAB_Show-Cause.pdf` `2026-08-05_ORDER_WCAB_Findings-and-Award.pdf` `2026-08-20_PET_Applicant_Reconsideration.pdf` `2026-04-20_ANSWER_Defense_Answer.pdf` `2026-05-05_132A_Applicant_Petition.pdf` `2026-05-05_SIBTF_Applicant_Application.pdf`
3 Hearings	`2026-07-30_NOH_WCAB_MSC-09-15-2026.pdf` `2026-07-30_NOH_WCAB_Trial-10-06-2026.pdf` `2026-06-18_DOR_Applicant_Expedited.pdf` `2026-06-19_POS_Applicant_DOR.pdf` `2026-08-01_MOH_WCAB_MSC.pdf` `2026-08-01_PTCS_Applicant_MSC.pdf` `2026-08-01_MSC_Applicant_Continuance-Request.pdf`
4 Correspondence	`2026-08-11_CORR_Carrier_Status-Inquiry.pdf` `2026-08-11_CORR_Defense_Designation-Request.pdf` `2026-08-12_CORR_Applicant_Firm-Letter-to-Client.pdf` `2026-08-14_CORR_Applicant_Notice-of-Representation.pdf`
5 Treating Medical	`2026-01-05_DFR_Dr-Jane-Roe_First-Report.pdf` `2026-03-06_PR2_Dr-Jane-Roe_Progress.pdf` `2026-02-11_MEDREC_Dr-Jane-Roe_Records.pdf` `2026-08-08_RFA_Dr-Jane-Roe_Physical-Therapy.pdf` `2025-11-19_MEDREC_Dr-John-Doe_Operative-Report.pdf` `2024-04-25_MEDREC_Imaging-Center_MRI-Right-Elbow.pdf`
6 Med-Legal Scheduling	`2026-08-17_QME_DWC_Panel-List.pdf` `2026-08-19_QME_Applicant_Strike.pdf` `2026-08-26_QME_Dr-John-Doe_Appointment.pdf` `2026-09-02_QME_Dr-John-Doe_Cancellation.pdf` `2026-09-05_CORR_Applicant_Records-to-QME.pdf` `2026-09-05_POS_Applicant_Records-to-QME.pdf` `2026-09-05_CORR_Applicant_QME-Advocacy-Letter.pdf` `2026-09-08_CORR_Defense_Proposed-Records-to-QME.pdf` `2026-09-12_CORR_Applicant_Objection-to-Records.pdf` `2026-08-10_AME_Dr-Richard-Roe_Agreement.pdf`

Tab	Names
7 Med-Legal Reports	`2026-01-12_PR3_Dr-Jane-Roe_PS.pdf` `2026-05-30_PR4_Dr-Jane-Roe_PS.pdf` `2026-05-14_PQME_Dr-John-Doe_Report.pdf` `2026-07-23_AME_Dr-Richard-Roe_3rd-Evaluation.pdf` `2026-07-23_AME_Dr-Richard-Roe_3rd-Evaluation_v02.pdf` (the amended report, same date) `2026-08-15_AME_Dr-Richard-Roe_Supplemental.pdf` `2026-08-28_CORR_Applicant_PD-Rating-AME-07-23-2026.pdf`
8 UR	`2026-08-20_UR-APPROVAL_Carrier_Surgery.pdf` `2026-08-07_UR-MOD_Carrier_Medication.pdf` `2026-08-11_UR-DENIAL_Carrier_Surgery.pdf` `2026-08-19_UR-DENIAL_Carrier_Deferral.pdf` `2026-08-17_UR-DENIAL_Carrier_Delay.pdf`
9 IMR	`2026-08-11_IMR-APP_Applicant_Packet.pdf` `2026-08-14_IMR-NOA_IMR-Org_Assignment.pdf` `2026-08-20_IMR-RFI_IMR-Org_Request.pdf` `2026-09-10_IMR-DET_IMR-Org_Overturned.pdf` `2026-09-10_IMR-DET_IMR-Org_Upheld.pdf`
10 Benefits Notices	`2026-08-01_BENEFITS_Carrier_TD-Start.pdf` `2026-08-15_BENEFITS_Carrier_TD-Termination.pdf` `2026-08-15_BENEFITS_Carrier_PD-Advance.pdf` `2026-08-15_BENEFITS_Carrier_Rate-Change.pdf` `2026-08-15_BENEFITS_Carrier_Offer-of-Modified-Work.pdf` `2026-08-15_BENEFITS_Carrier_SJDB-Voucher.pdf`
11 Money	`2026-08-15_BENEFITS_Carrier_Check-TD.pdf` `2026-08-15_BENEFITS_Carrier_Check-PD-Advance.pdf` `2026-08-15_CORR_Carrier_EOB-Dr-Jane-Roe.pdf` `2026-08-15_CORR_Carrier_Mileage-Payment.pdf` `2026-08-15_CORR_Dr-John-Doe_Med-Legal-Bill.pdf`
12 Depositions & Discovery	`2026-08-20_DEPO-NOTICE_Defense_Applicant.pdf` `2026-08-20_DEPO-NOTICE_Defense_Dr-John-Doe.pdf` `2026-09-10_DEPO-TX_Reporter_Applicant_p01of02.pdf` `2026-08-20_CORR_Defense_Written-Discovery-Request.pdf`

Tab	Names
13 Subpoenas & Records	`2026-08-20_SDT_Defense_Hospital-Records.pdf` `2026-08-27_MEDREC_Hospital_SDT-Return.pdf` `2026-08-20_SUBPOENA_Defense_Applicant.pdf` `2026-08-20_CORR_Applicant_Records-Request-Personnel-File.pdf` `2026-08-20_AUTH_Applicant_Release-Hospital-Records.pdf`
14 Settlement	`2026-09-02_CR_Applicant_Unsigned.pdf` `2026-09-02_STIP_Applicant_Request-for-Award.pdf` `2026-09-02_OACR_Applicant_Proposed-Award.pdf` `2026-09-20_ORDER_WCAB_Award.pdf` `2026-09-20_ORDER_WCAB_Approving-CR.pdf` `2026-09-02_CORR_Applicant_MSA.pdf`
15 Liens	`2026-08-20_LIEN_Hospital_Notice.pdf` `2026-08-20_NOH_WCAB_Lien-Conference.pdf` `2026-08-20_CORR_Hospital_Lien-Demand.pdf`
cover — Client & Intake	`2026-03-10_HIPAA_Applicant_Representative-Designation.pdf` `2026-03-10_HIPAA_Applicant_Release.pdf` `2026-03-10_CORR_Applicant_Intake-Packet.pdf` `2026-03-10_CORR_Applicant_Demographics-Sheet.pdf` `2026-03-10_CORR_Applicant_Fee-Agreement.pdf` `2026-08-20_CORR_Applicant_Address-Update.pdf`
pocket (unfiled)	no filing name exists yet — a received scan keeps its scanner name and the firm's draft its working name until the three questions are answered and it is filed under the standard's name

7. The clocks

Every clipped item says which date it runs from. Section numbers are cited plainly for the attorney to verify; nothing here quotes statutory text, and every deadline is computed in California time.

Tab	Clock	Runs from	Ends in	Reference
1	90-day claim presumption	the date the claim form (DWC-1) is filed with the employer	liability not rejected within 90 days → the injury is presumed compensable (75 days for the presumptive injuries of LC 3212–3213.2); rebuttable only by evidence found after the period	LC 5402(b)
1	time to commence proceedings	the date of injury, the end of the last indemnity period, or the last medical furnished — whichever is latest	one year — the attorney sets the date; the clerk clips it	LC 5405
1	new and further disability	the date of injury	five years — the attorney sets the date; the clerk clips it	LC 5410
2, 14	petition for reconsideration	service of the final order, decision or award	20 days; +5 days when served by mail, fax, e-mail or any method other than personal service to an address in California (+10 elsewhere in the United States, +20 outside it), measured by the party's Official Address Record — only personal service gets the bare 20. Filed in EAMS or with the district office; verified, with proof of service; 25 pages (answer 10)	LC 5903; 8 CCR 10605(a)–(b), 10940, 10945
2	the Board's time to act on reconsideration	transmission of the case to the Appeals Board — service of the judge's Report & Recommendation is the notice of it	60 days; a petition not acted on is deemed denied (Stats. 2024, ch. 52 added the transmission rule with a July 1, 2026 sunset; SB 171, Stats. 2026, ch. 83, effective July 13, 2026, re-enacted it without one — the section reads as shown from that date)	LC 5909(a)–(b) · Perez v. Chicago Dogs (WCAB en banc, Aug. 12 & 14, 2025) ADJ16597333
2	reconsideration vs removal	—	only a final order (a substantive right, or a threshold issue: AOE/COE, jurisdiction, employment, statute of limitations) takes the 20-day reconsideration clock; an interlocutory order (evidence, discovery, trial setting, venue) is challenged by removal — the attorney decides which	Vazquez v. Renteria (WCAB en banc, May 19, 2025) ADJ11017003; 8 CCR 10955(a)
2	Order Suspending Action	the OSA	provide the information asked for (medicals, civil-case facts, fee support); the judge may not use an OSA to compel an evaluation, dismiss with prejudice, or cut a fee without notice and a record	8 CCR 10700(b), 10789(e) · Gaines v. ABM Aviation (WCAB en banc, June 24, 2026) ADJ20216367

Tab	Clock	Runs from	Ends in	Reference
3	hearing	the notice	the date on the notice; prep a week before	—
4	reply-by date on a letter	the letter	the date the letter states; where it states none, the case manager sets one — no statutory period	—
4, cover	disclosure of the liable entity	the first letter from an administrator that does not name its client	the request goes at the earliest opportunity; the answer is due before anything is served on the unnamed entity — the attorney sets the follow-up	Coldiron I & II (2002); DiFusco (2025); 8 CCR 10390(c)
6	QME panel strike (represented)	assignment of the panel by the administrative director	10 days, +5 when served by mail — the mailbox rule Messele v. Pitco Foods (en banc, 2011) stated for the § 4062.2(b) proposal period, which the Board applies to the strike; a party that does not strike lets the other side pick from what remains. No rule prescribes the form of the strike — a served letter is the practice	LC 4062.2(c)
6	scheduling the QME after the strike (represented)	the date the evaluator is selected from the panel	the represented employee schedules within 10 business days; if not, the claims administrator may arrange the appointment	8 CCR 31.3(d)
6	QME appointment availability	the party's request for an appointment	no appointment within 90 days → the party may waive to accept one within 120 days; past 120 → either party may report it and a replacement panel issues on request (unless both waive in writing); whether to replace for good cause is the Board's call, on the length of delay, prejudice each way, efforts to cure, and case-specific reasons	8 CCR 31.3(e)–(f) (follow-up evaluations too), 31.5(a)(2) · Vazquez v. Renteria (WCAB en banc, May 19, 2025) ADJ11017003
6	objection to the other side's nonmedical records to the evaluator	service of their proposed records or information	10 days; an objection not made at the first opportunity is taken as agreement; objected-to nonmedical records are not sent unless a judge orders it	LC 4062.3(b); 8 CCR 35(d) · Suon (2018)
6	records and communications to a QME	the date the firm proposes to send them	information is served on the opposing party 20 days before it goes to the evaluator (their objection window is the row above); every communication before the evaluation is in writing, served 20 days ahead; later communications served when sent; anything to an AME needs the parties' agreement; a letter that contains, references or encloses records is "information" whatever it calls itself; scheduling, missed appointments, sending records and asking when the report is ready are not ex parte	LC 4062.3(a)–(g); 8 CCR 35(d) · Maxham (en banc, 2017) 82 Cal.Comp.Cases 136; Suon v. California Dairies (WCAB en banc, 2018) ADJ9013590, 83 Cal.Comp.Cases 1803

Tab	Clock	Runs from	Ends in	Reference
6	ex parte communication with the evaluator	discovery of it	the aggrieved party may terminate the evaluation and seek a new one — within a reasonable time; the remedy is the trier of fact's, weighing prejudice, timing, cure and good faith	LC 4062.3(g) · Suon (2018) 83 Cal.Comp.Cases 1803; Vazquez v. Renteria (WCAB en banc, May 19, 2025) ADJ11017003
7	the evaluator's report	the examination (or when the evaluation procedure began)	30 days, +15 for good cause (missing tests, emergency, disaster); a late report gives either party a statutory right to a new evaluation and neither party owes for the late one — unless each side waives the new evaluation on the AD's form	LC 139.2(j)(1), 4062.5 · Vazquez v. Renteria (WCAB en banc, May 19, 2025) ADJ11017003
7	objection or supplemental request on a med-legal report	service of the report	no statutory period; the attorney sets the date, and it falls before the MSC (the row below)	—
3, 7, 12, 13	discovery cutoff	the mandatory settlement conference	discovery closes on the MSC date; evidence not disclosed by then is inadmissible unless it could not have been found with due diligence — so a supplemental request, a deposition or a records subpoena is ordered before the MSC; the attorney sets those dates, the clerk clips them against the MSC	LC 5502(d)(3)
5, 7	objection to a treating physician's medical determination	receipt of the report	20 days if represented, 30 if not; extendable for good cause or by agreement; a represented objection proceeds to a panel under LC 4062.2	LC 4062(a)
8	IMR request after a UR denial or modification	service of the UR decision on the employee	30 days (10 days for a formulary dispute); if the employer also disputes liability for the treatment, 30 days from notice that the liability dispute is resolved; if the UR decision came without the one-page IMR form and envelope, the clock has not started. The application goes to the Administrative Director with a copy of the UR decision, and a copy to the claims administrator	LC 4610.5(f), (h)(1)–(3); 8 CCR 9792.10.1
8	UR deferral (liability disputed)	—	UR is not required while the employer disputes liability for the injury or the condition; once liability is final, the employer's UR clock runs from its receipt of a treatment recommendation — so the request is repeated then	LC 4610(l), (m)
8	UR delay (information requested)	the delay notice	no clock for the applicant — the decision follows when the reviewer has what it asked for; the case manager notes the date the notice promises	—

Tab	Clock	Runs from	Ends in	Reference
9	supporting records after a Notice of Assignment	the NOA	15 days (12 if the notice was sent electronically; 10 for a formulary-drug dispute; 24 hours on an expedited review) for the employee or representative to submit supporting documentation — the same window as the claims administrator's	8 CCR 9792.10.5
9	IMR request for information	the RFI	the date on the RFI	—
10	offer of regular / modified / alternative work	the offer — the employer's window is 60 days: for 2005–2012 injuries, from the disability becoming P&S; for 2013+ injuries, from the claims administrator's receipt of the first P&S report on the AD's form (Physician's Return-to-Work & Voucher Report, DWC-AD 10133.36) finding P&S and permanent partial disability	Injuries 2005–2012: the offer moves the remaining PD payments ±15% (LC 4658(d)). Injuries on or after 1/1/2013: the offer no longer changes PD — it decides whether the applicant gets the SJDB voucher (up to $6,000) — and only an offer of regular, modified or alternative work lasting at least 12 months counts. Either way the attorney is told the day it arrives	LC 4658(d)(2)–(3); LC 4658.1(a)–(c); LC 4658.7(b)(1)–(2)
12	written discovery response	service of the request	the date the request states; where it states none, the attorney sets it — no statutory period in this forum	—
12	deposition	service of the notice	the noticed date — which must be at least 10 days after service of the notice, or at least 20 days after issuance of the subpoena when consumer or employment records are subpoenaed for it. WC depositions are taken as in civil actions; the applicant deposed by the defense is owed transportation, meals and lodging, lost wages, one transcript, a reasonable attorney's fee and a certified interpreter	LC 5710(a)–(b); CCP 2025.270(a), (c)
13	subpoena duces tecum for records	issuance and service of the subpoena	the production date on it — no earlier than 20 days after issuance or 15 days after service, whichever is later; the custodian delivers within 15 days after receipt. Subpoenas issue from the Board and its judges, or as in civil actions	LC 130, 5710; CCP 2020.410(c); Evid. Code 1560(b)(2)

Tab	Clock	Runs from	Ends in	Reference
14	payment after an award or order approving	service of the award or order	the date the order sets; where it sets none the attorney sets a 30-day check — an unreasonable delay is a penalty question for the attorney	LC 5814
14	filing a settlement	the filing	every AME, QME and treating report relevant to adequacy is filed with it — withholding or misstating that none exist is prohibited; expect an OSA or a hearing if the record does not explain the value	8 CCR 10700(a) · Gaines v. ABM Aviation (WCAB en banc, June 24, 2026) ADJ20216367
15	lien conference	the notice	the date on the notice — every defendant and lien claimant appears (in person or by representative); a lien claimant that does not may be dismissed on notice of intention or deferred; unresolved claims need a signed pre-trial conference statement, and undisclosed evidence may be waived; a late-appointed representative is not good cause	8 CCR 10875, 10888
15	filing the lien (a provider's lien against the case)	the date the services were provided	18 months (services on or after July 1, 2013; 3 years for earlier services); $150 filing fee and a declaration under penalty of perjury — without the declaration the lien is dismissed by operation of law	LC 4903.5(a), 4903.05

8. Rules that hold across every tab

A piece goes behind exactly one tab. A document that belongs to two (a settlement check) is filed once, under the tab where it is acted on, with a diary note naming the other tab.

Two documents in one received scan are cut at the page where the second begins. Each part is its own piece with its own date, name, tab and clock. A person confirms the boundary before anything is filed — a wrong cut files pages to the wrong case.

The same letter twice (by mail and by fax, or a re-scan) is filed once. The second is a note on the first. It never starts a second clock.

No case, or two cases fit → the pocket. Nobody guesses. Attaching a document to the wrong client is worse than leaving it unfiled.

The letter disagrees with the file (body part, date of injury, claimant name, employer) → filed, with the disagreement written in the note as a finding. Never silently prefer one.

Every clock names its start date — letter date, mailing date, service date, receipt date differ, and the law picks one per clock. A date is never a reason to withhold a filing; it is a reason to clip an item.

A cumulative-trauma injury has two dates: period start and period end. Anything computed from the date of injury (a rating, a statute) uses the end date by this profile's rule, and both dates are shown.

Roles, not names. "Attorney", "case manager", "paralegal", "bookkeeping" are roles; the case system says who fills them on that case. Notes name roles; no staff name appears in a filename.

Nothing is written to a case without a proof. A filing is done when the document is on the case under its name, the note is there, and the clipped item exists. A step that fails leaves the piece in the queue with its reason.

The IMR packet — how Tab 8 becomes Tab 9

A UR denial or modification (Tab 8) is not only filed; it is appealed, and the appeal is a single document assembled from three tabs and the cover. The clerk builds it in this order and combines it into one PDF — one attachment, never several; that is a submission requirement of the review organization, not a preference.

#	In the packet	From	Rule
1	The Application for Independent Medical Review — the copy the claims administrator served with the UR decision, completed and signed	Tab 8 (it arrives with the denial)	The form travels with the denial (LC 4610.5(f)); the request is made on the form with a copy of the decision attached (8 CCR 9792.10.1). Never a form downloaded blind — the served copy carries the case's own identifiers and the current revision. The served form and its envelope stay with the denial as one piece — the one exception to the two-documents rule; the form has no code of its own.
2	The UR denial or modification letter itself	Tab 8	Before it goes, check that the letter carries what IMR requires (the treatment at issue, the determination, the dates) and that the firm's address on it is current; a stale address is corrected on the document, and a letter missing what IMR needs stops the packet and tells the case manager.
3	The client's signed authorization and the Authorized Representative Designation	Cover (the intake packet)	Both, every time; an unsigned designation is a pocket item, not an omission.
4	The firm's demographics sheet	Cover	First UR denial on the case only; on a later denial the review organization already holds it.
5	Supporting medical reports (the request for authorization, the treating physician's report behind it, any med-legal report on the treatment)	Tabs 5 and 7	What supports the request goes now where the firm has it; the rest goes within the window the Notice of Assignment opens — 15 days (12 when the notice was sent electronically; 10 for a formulary drug; 24 hours on an expedited review), the same window the claims administrator has (8 CCR 9792.10.5). Clip it the day the NOA arrives (Tab 9).

Then four things happen, in order. (1) The packet is sent by the firm's submission route, under a person's approval — an outbound send is never automatic. (2) The packet is filed on the case under its own name (2026-08-11_IMR-APP_Applicant_Packet.pdf, Tab 9), beside the denial it appeals. (3) A diary note says where and when it went. (4) The IMR clock is clipped as section 7 states it — 30 days from service of the denial or modification on the employee (10 for a formulary drug) — and nothing about that date ever withholds the send — timeliness is decided by the review organization, not by the clerk.

What comes back lands on Tab 9. The Notice of Assignment opens the window for supporting reports (clip it); a Request for Information carries its own date (clip it); the Determination is routed by the clerk, never re-appealed by the clerk (an appeal of it is the attorney's petition, Tab 2) — an overturn goes to the attorney, an uphold on ordinary treatment to the case manager, an uphold on surgery, homecare or a device to the attorney. A carrier letter that reports the determination is the same answer in the carrier's words and is routed the same way.

8a. Rules from the Appeals Board's en banc decisions

These are rules the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board has stated en banc — binding on every panel and every judge (8 CCR 10325) — that bear on what a clerk does with a document, or on what the person told about it decides. Each is cited to the decision that states it, for counsel to confirm against the opinion. Legal information, not advice.

Tab	The rule, in effect	Decision	Cite
4, cover	A third-party administrator must disclose whose liability it administers — carrier or self-insured employer — and any high self-insured retention, large deductible or other provision that changes who actually pays; the duty falls on every defendant, at the earliest opportunity, and the burden never sits with the injured worker. An award against an unidentified entity may be unenforceable.	Coldiron I & II (2002); DiFusco (2025)	Coldiron v. Compuware (WCAB en banc, Mar. 20 and Nov. 11, 2002) 67 Cal.Comp.Cases 289 [Coldiron I], 1466 [Coldiron II]; DiFusco v. Hands On Spa (WCAB en banc, Oct. 13, 2025) ADJ7445107; 8 CCR 10390(c) (the insurer or self-insured employer, not the administrator, is named as the party — a rule DiFusco holds does not displace Coldiron)
6	"Information" to an evaluator is treating records and medical/nonmedical records relevant to the medical issues; a "communication" becomes information if it contains, references or encloses them. Information to a panel QME: served 20 days before; nonmedical records objected to within 10 days are not sent. To an AME: only by agreement. Advocacy is allowed; misrepresentation is not.	Maxham (2017)	Maxham v. Cal. Dept. of Corrections & Rehabilitation (WCAB en banc, Jan. 23, 2017) ADJ3540065, 82 Cal.Comp.Cases 136
6	Disputes over what goes to the QME are for the WCAB after a good-faith attempt to resolve them; an objection must be made at the first opportunity or is taken as agreement; an ex parte communication lets the aggrieved party terminate the evaluation within a reasonable time; removal, not reconsideration, is the route to challenge such rulings.	Suon (2018)	Suon v. California Dairies (WCAB en banc, 2018) ADJ9013590, 83 Cal.Comp.Cases 1803; 8 CCR 10955
6, 7	Only the Appeals Board decides whether a replacement panel is valid. A late report (30 days from the exam, +15) is a statutory ground to replace a QME; mere unavailability to set an appointment is not — replacement for unavailability is discretionary, weighed on delay, prejudice each way, efforts to cure, case-specific reasons and substantial justice. The 10-day strike is extended 5 days by mail; after the strike the represented employee has 10 business days to set the appointment (8 CCR 31.3(d)).	Vazquez (2025); Messele (2011)	Vazquez v. Renteria (WCAB en banc, May 19, 2025) ADJ11017003; Messele v. Pitco Foods (WCAB en banc, 2011) 76 Cal.Comp.Cases 1318 [the mailbox rule on the § 4062.2(b) AME-proposal period; applied by the Board to the strike]

Tab	The rule, in effect	Decision	Cite
2	The Board's 60 days to act on reconsideration run from transmission of the case; service of the judge's Report & Recommendation is notice of transmission. A grant of reconsideration reopens the whole record. Only a final order (substantive right or threshold issue) is reconsidered; interlocutory orders are removed.	Perez (2025); Vazquez (2025)	LC 5909(a)–(b) (as amended by Stats. 2026, ch. 83); Perez v. Chicago Dogs (WCAB en banc, Aug. 12 & 14, 2025) ADJ16597333; Vazquez (en banc, May 19, 2025) ADJ11017003
1, 2	Pleadings are informal and read for substance: a technically deficient pleading that gives notice and is timely does not defeat jurisdiction; a petition is judged on its merits, not its title; relief from default follows CCP § 473.	Perez (2025)	Perez v. Chicago Dogs (WCAB en banc, Aug. 12 & 14, 2025) ADJ16597333; 8 CCR 10515 (no demurrers or summary judgment), 10517 (pleadings deemed amended to the stipulations, or to proof), 10617(a)–(b) (a document under a statute of limitations or jurisdictional time limit is not rejected for its form — only for missing case-identifying information, with a 15-day cure that keeps the original filing date); CCP § 473
14	No settlement binds until the Board approves it; the judge must independently find it valid (a contract) and adequate (protecting the worker and the public). All relevant medical reports are filed with it and may not be withheld. Where the record does not explain the value, the judge issues an OSA or sets a hearing — and may not use an OSA to compel an evaluation, dismiss with prejudice or reduce a fee without notice and a record. Stipulations need information, not substantial medical evidence.	Gaines (2026)	LC 5001, 5702; 8 CCR 10700(a)–(c), 10789(b)(1), (e), 10832 (a notice of intention is the general vehicle — liens, petitions, sanctions, submission, dismissal — not an evaluation-attendance rule); Gaines v. ABM Aviation (WCAB en banc, June 24, 2026) ADJ20216367 et al. (31 consolidated cases)

Tab	The rule, in effect	Decision	Cite
10	An offer of work defeats the SJDB voucher only if bona fide and within § 4658.1's definitions; an employer's inability to offer work does not excuse the voucher; SJDB disputes belong to the WCAB — the Administrative Director's dispute rule is invalid and any deadline it set to reach the Board is void.	Dennis (2020)	LC 4658.1(a)–(c), 4658.7(b), (h); Dennis v. State of California (WCAB en banc, Jan. 13, 2020) ADJ9346293, 85 Cal.Comp.Cases 389
14, 11	No attorney's fee is demanded or accepted until the Board approves it; a disputed fee can be held in trust while the C&R is approved and heard later.	Gaines (2026)	LC 4906(a), (d); 8 CCR 10844 (responsibility assumed, care exercised, time involved, results obtained); Gaines (en banc, June 24, 2026) ADJ20216367
all	Decisions rest on the admitted record; oral statements at a walk-through are not evidence. Discovery is liberal and needs no good-cause showing for routine requests — including insurance-coverage information.	Gaines (2026); DiFusco (2025)	LC 5708, 5709; 8 CCR 10803(a)(2) (the record of proceedings is the admitted evidence — a document in the file that was never offered is outside it), 10789(e); Hamilton v. Lockheed Martin (WCAB en banc, 2001) 66 Cal.Comp.Cases 473; Gaines (2026); DiFusco (en banc, Oct. 13, 2025) ADJ7445107

The rows in section 7 that are not en banc law — the UR/IMR clocks, the claim-denial presumption, the § 4062 objection, the strike statute — rest on the Labor Code and WCAB rules cited beside them.

9. The pocket: what a person decides

The pocket holds every piece the procedure could not finish, each with the reason. The reasons are few, and each has one answer:

Reason	What the person does
No case found	Names the case, or says it is not the firm's client — then the piece is processed normally or returned.
Two cases fit (no claim or ADJ number on the document matches exactly one)	Picks the case, from the date of injury, body part or employer, and says why in the note.
Two documents in one scan	Confirms the page where the second begins; the scan is cut and each part processed.
Document has no date / unreadable	Supplies the date from the document if it is there and was missed; if the document truly carries none, the postmark or fax-header date is used and the note says so — and the attorney decides any clock that depends on it. Unreadable: requests a legible copy.
Same date, TYPE and Source already filed, nothing distinguishes them	Says whether it is the same document (note it) or a second one (`_v02`).
A packet or send needs something the file lacks (a signed designation, an application form, a wage figure)	Supplies it, or hands the piece to the person who can.
A Board order — reconsideration or removal?	The attorney says whether it decides a substantive right or a threshold issue (reconsideration) or is interlocutory (removal). The clerk has already clipped 20 days from service — both petitions carry it — and files under Tab 2; only the petition's name waits.
The firm's own records or communications for the evaluator	The attorney decides what is served, on whom, and when — the 20-day service rule of § 4062.3 is not a clerk's call; the clerk clips the date and produces the proof of service. (The other side's proposed records are not a pocket item: they are filed to Tab 6, their 10-day objection window clipped, and the attorney told.)
Not a case at all (firm mail, marketing)	Firm mail to the office; marketing is discarded.
A returned envelope whose case cannot be identified	Names the case; the envelope becomes a contact update on it (cover). A returned envelope that names its case never reaches the pocket.

A pocket that holds more than about one piece in twenty means a tab or a rule is wrong, not that the documents are unusual.

10. Measuring the folder

Once a week, from the queue and the cases: how many pieces went behind each tab; how many landed in the pocket and why; how many clocks were clipped and how many were met; how long a piece took from entry to proof. The tabs that stay empty for a quarter are proposed for merger in the next version of the standard; the pocket reasons that recur become rules; a clock missed twice becomes a louder clip. The folder is a belief until it is measured.

11. Where it runs

The standard is implemented in both AAI products: fluentpro on FluentCase and aaicasepro on Merus. Both load the same map and answer the same three questions for every document. What each product writes, how it proves it, and the engineering items still open are kept in a separate implementation note, not in the standard.

12. How the case system carries it

The tab is the document's tag family in the case system. Each firm's tag catalog has its own names ("UR & IMR", "QME/AME Reports", "Notices of Hearing"); each tag is assigned once to one of the fifteen tabs or the cover, from the catalog, and the assignment is shown. No tag id lives in a rule.

The name is the document's display name, built by the standard from the document date, the source, the TYPE code and the Descriptor, at filing; before filing a received scan has only its scanner name and the firm's draft its working name.

The clip is a calendar event or a task on the case, created with the due date and the start date it was computed from, in California time.

"Told" is one diary note on the case naming the filed document and the role; the case system notifies whoever holds that role on that case. Nobody is told where the tab says nobody.

The proof is read back from the case after every step: the document under its name, the note, the event or task. What cannot be read back is not done.

The pocket is the review list — every unfinished piece with its reason, and the one action that finishes it.

Automated processing follows exactly this page: a reader extracts the document's facts, a matcher finds the case by two agreeing identifiers (a made or produced document arrives with its case known), a proposer picks the TYPE and the tab, a filer names and files with a read-back, a packet builder produces the tab's artifact, a sender delivers it under a person's approval, a verifier proves every step, and a tickler keeps the clocks. A person approves every send and every pocket decision.

13. Verification record

Every citation in this document was checked on 2026-08-28 against the primary text — the Labor Code, Code of Civil Procedure and Evidence Code at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov; Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations at dir.ca.gov/t8; the Appeals Board's en banc decisions; and, for the vocabulary, DWC's EAMS Document Titles List (Rev. 11/2017), the "Document type and document titles for ADJ cases" sheet (Rev. 9/2010), the EAMS e-form filers' guide (Rev. 2013-12, incorporated by 8 CCR 10206), the EAMS OCR handbook (Rev. 7/2012) and the form numbers printed on the DWC forms themselves. Nothing here rests on a secondary summary except two reporter page numbers, marked in the table. Counsel confirms before relying; legal information, not advice.

Item	Result
LC 130; 139.2(j)(1); 3212–3213.2 (the presumptive injuries, by reference); 4062(a); 4062.2(c); 4062.3(a)–(g); 4062.5; 4610(l)–(m); 4610.5(f), (h)(1)–(3); 4658(d)(2)–(3); 4658.1(a)–(c); 4658.7(b), (d), (h); 4903.05; 4903.5; 4906(a), (d); 5001; 5401(a), (c); 5402(b)–(c); 5405; 5410; 5502(d)(3); 5702; 5708–5709; 5710(a)–(b); 5814; 5903; 5909	Confirmed as stated.
8 CCR 31.3(d)–(f); 31.5(a); 35(d); 9785.5; 9792.10.1; 9792.10.5; 10133.31; 10133.36; 10205.12; 10206; 10325; 10390(c); 10515; 10517; 10605(a)–(b); 10700(a)–(c); 10789(b)(1), (e); 10803(a)(2); 10832; 10844; 10875; 10888; 10940; 10945; 10955(a); AD Rule 10133.54 (cited only as held invalid in Dennis)	Confirmed as stated.
CCP 2025.270(a), (c); CCP 2020.410(c); Evid. Code 1560(b)(2); CCP § 473	Confirmed as stated (the deposition, subpoena and default clocks).
Hamilton (2001); Coldiron I & II (2002); Messele (2011); Maxham (2017); Suon (2018); Dennis (2020); Vazquez (2025); Perez (2025); DiFusco (2025); Gaines (2026)	Confirmed as en banc decisions against the Appeals Board's own list and the decisions' text; case numbers, dates and reporter volumes as shown (the Suon and Dennis page numbers come from secondary reports — the Board's list gives the volume only).

The Document Titles List is dated 2017 and the e-form guide 2013; no newer official list was found. Where the 2010 and 2017 lists disagree, the 2017 list governs here. If DWC republishes the list, section 5 is re-checked against it — a title is a fact about EAMS, not about this folder. The clocks that are not statutory periods (a supplemental request, a written-discovery response, a reply-by date, the award-payment check) say so and name the attorney as the one who sets the date.

Every clock, rule and EAMS title in this standard was checked against the primary text on 28 August 2026 (section 13); en banc rules are cited to the Appeals Board decisions that state them. Every name, doctor and party in the examples is fictional. Section numbers are cited for verification by counsel and are not legal advice.