Legal Question in Workers Comp in California

Depending on how much you are seeking to recover, you might want an attorney to write a brief to explain in language and include better arguments. You might be entitled to seek a penalty for delay in benefits, interest [which would double your claim], shepardize the case you won to see if it is cited by other cases, raise the argument that the carrier knew others would be involved in the surgery so had to notify them they would not reimburse them, the worker is not penalized for what amounts to malpractice as the carrier should sue the surgeon for the added cost which includes the amount they should have paid you, that the surgery wold have gone forward with or without you but the patient would have been in horrible pain without you being their so your reduces the damages the worker suffered by providing your services, you did nothing wrong but would have been punished or lost your license to practice if you had not induced the medication, etc. I might be able to come up with additional arguments with a little more thought.

You are in a no win situation. You will be forced to fully litigate the claim, meaning a trial if the carrier does not budge. Your question is contradictory. If the surgeon requested authorization and it was not timely authorized, then under Sandhagen, the surgery must be authorized, end of story. The only situation where an other result could be found is if the parties agreed to an AME or a second opinion issued regarding surgery. However, the timeline under Sandhagen would still apply for the second opinion, so I am at a loss to understand how the surgery was determined to be unnecessary.

Your best bet is to find a lien representative who deals with these types of issues routinely, for example Rios Consulting or MGM lein service and let them litigate the lien for a percentage of the recovery.