When you are protesting a claim closure determination and alleging that your condition is medically unstable, it is your burden to prove by the majority of the medical evidence 1) that the condition is work related, and 2) that the condition is medically unstable (that is, in need of further medical treatment to improve the condition).

If your doctors disagree on your diagnosis, L&I will often send you for an IME (independent medical examination). Unfortunately, a handful of doctors on the IME panel are known to be case closers. They have the reputation of telling L&I whatever is needed to close the claim and so they are very popular with many claims examiners.

Because of this unfortunate result, I recommend to many of my clients that they obtain a second opinion. L&I probably won't pay for it so it will come out of your pocket or hopefully be covered by your health insurance, but it may be exactly what you need to meet your burden by a preponderance of the evidence. Hopefully this will result in a concurrence with one of the prior treating physicians.

You can use this medical in support of the protest or appeal.

Regardless of the diagnosis, if the doctors do not have anything more to offer for treatment, then your mother may be entitled to a job retraining and a permanent partial disability award to compensate her for her residual nerve damage and its impact on her ability to work.

I hope this answer is helpful to you.