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Anderson v. Longmont Toyota12/6/2004
d not intend to bar worsening condition TTD benefits; if so, it would have clearly stated that "no subsequent wage loss could be attributed to the on-the-job injury." Id.
Overruling the ICAO by its alternative construction of the statute, the court of appeals cited the dictionary definition of "resulting" as meaning "something that results as a consequence, effect, issue, or conclusion." Longmont Toyota, 85 P.2d at 550 (quoting Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1937 (1969)). Reasoning that this definition "encompasses both direct and indirect consequences, and in this context, the word can plausibly be interpreted either narrowly to mean a wage loss that occurs immediately following a separation for cause, or broadly to mean any subsequent wage loss," the court found the word "resulting" in the statutory phrase to be ambiguous. Id.
The court of appeals concluded that the sponsoring legislators "expressed a clear intent to overrule PDM Molding and completely cut off temporary benefits whenever an injured worker is responsible for separation from the employment where the injury occurred, regardless of the consequences that followed." Id. at 551. (emphasis added). It held that the termination statutes are "to be construed as a permanent bar to receipt of temporary disability benefits when a claimant is responsible for his or her separation from employment and the separation is for causes within the employee's control, but unrelated to the industrial injury." Id.
In addressing the legislature's intent, the court of appeals turned to Monfort v. Husson, 725 P.2d 67 (Colo. App. 1986), and the introduction of employee fault for job termination in ascertaining eligibility for benefits. The issue in Monfort was whether an injured employee who "has not reached maximum medical improvement, and is terminated from the employment out of which the injury arose, is eligible to receive temporary partial disability benefits during subsequent periods of wage loss." 725 P.2d at 69. Under the facts of that case, the court of appeals enunciated a legal rule that "the issue of fault with reference to termination is the dispositive consideration." Id.
As it turned out, the claimant in Monfort proved that he was not terminated due to misconduct and that he had "difficulty obtaining even substandard employment which would accommodate his physical restrictions," id. at 70, so the court of appeals proceeded to hold in favor of the claimant. It concluded that the reduced wage at the subsequent employer was attributable to the industrial injury , and claimant was entitled to workers' compensation benefits for the period following termination. Id.
Nevertheless, the Monfort decision introduced the issue of fault for the termination as a basis for denying workers' compensation benefits. Taking apparent issue with the court of appeals fault analysis, we held in PDM Molding "that if a work related injury contributes to some degree to a claimant's loss of wages, the claimant is eligible for temporary total disability benefits pursuant to section 8-42-105." 898 P.2d at 548. As the legislative history to section 8-42-105(4) demonstrates, this statement caused concern among employers, their insurers, and members of the General Assembly that we had created a "loophole" promoting illegitimate claims.
We acknowledge that the 1999 legislative debate surrounding enactment of section 8-42-105(4) was concerned with the point that PDM Molding had opened the door to rewarding employees for causing workplace disruptions, or walking off the job, and then being compensated for wage loss in doing so. Nevertheless, contrary to the court of appeals conclusion that the General Assembly c
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