If the applicant has received a prior award of PD, it shall be conclusively presumed that ...

• A. the prior PD exists at the time of any subsequent industrial injury.
• B. the prior PD has expired.
• C. the prior PD is disregarded for new awards.
• D. the prior PD is permanently binding.

Answer: (A)

In California workers’ compensation, a prior permanent disability award creates a conclusive presumption that the prior impairment exists at the time a new industrial injury occurs. This means when evaluating a subsequent claim, the prior PD is automatically treated as still in effect for the purposes of determining disability, so the new injury is assessed against that baseline rather than trying to prove the prior impairment again.

That’s why the correct statement is that the prior permanent disability exists at the time of any subsequent industrial injury. The other options don’t fit because the law does not say the prior PD expires, nor that it’s disregarded for new awards, and the point isn’t that it becomes permanently binding in a way that overrides the need to consider ongoing impairment.