On July 6, 2017, applicant Gabriel Bautista, 42, a driver for Global Paratransit Inc., a public transportation company, was assisting a wheelchair-dependent patron into his van, in Woodland Hills, while in the course and scope of his employment. The van was struck by another vehicle. The vehicle then struck Bautista, causing to his head, chest and back. Bautista sued the driver of the vehicle, and the matter settled in May 2018. The driver’s insurer agreed to tender the driver’s $5.25 million policy to settle the lawsuit. Bautista then filed a workers’ compensation claim against Global Paratransit Inc. He brought a claim in an attempt to collect workers’ compensation benefits., Bautista was immediately transferred by paramedics to Northridge Hospital Medical Center. He underwent CT scans, which showed fractures of the anterior superior end plate of the T12 vertebral body and posterior spinous process. There was retropulsion of the vertebral body into the spinal canal measuring 14 millimeters, which rendered him paraplegic. Bautista also sustained fractures of two ribs, a pneumothorax with a pulmonary contusion and a liver laceration. He also claimed that he suffered a mild traumatic brain injury. Bautista underwent an emergent posterior fusion at T10-11, T11-12 and T12-L1. After stabilization in the intensive care unit, Bautista was transferred to acute rehabilitation at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. He was then transferred to Casa Colina Transitional Living Center, in Pomona, for continued rehabilitation on an outpatient basis. Bautista claimed that he has made gains in rehabilitation and is now a modified independent. However, he contended that he still suffers ongoing limitations due to vertebral subluxation and dysesthetic pain in his back and both hips. Respondent’s counsel disputed the severity of Bautista’s alleged residual .