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Sodexho Marriott Corp. v. Dist. of Columbia Dep't of Employment Services9/9/2004
Argued February 10, 2004
Sodexho Marriott Corporation petitions for review of a decision by the director of the D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES), which affirmed a compensation order awarding workers' compensation benefits to Trevor Rasbury, after concluding that Ms. Rasbury's claim for additional wage loss benefits was not time-barred by the provision of the District of Columbia Workers' Compensation Act of 1979 (the Act) that limits the time to review and modify benefits in light of changed conditions. See D.C. Code § 32-1524 (a) (2001). Sodexho contends that the director erred because the parties had signed a stipulation that operated as a final compensation order that triggered the statutory time limitation. Because substantial evidence of record supports the director's determination that the stipulation was not a complete and final settlement that would trigger the time limitation, we affirm.
I. Background
On May 7, 1998, Trevor Rasbury fell and sustained an injury to her back while working for Sodexho. A dispute arose between the parties as to the scope of her employment and whether she was entitled to benefits for the injury. On April 8, 1999, both parties signed a stipulation in which the employer agreed to pay $1,110.64 for Ms. Rasbury's temporary total disability from May 7 through May 11, 1998, and from July 23 to August 6, 1998, as well as medical benefits in the amount of $1,805 for treatment rendered as a result of the injuries sustained in the 1998 accident. The DOES Office of Workers' Compensation approved the stipulation on May 13, 1999 and the agreed-upon amounts were paid in full.
Ms. Rasbury filed a new claim in 2001 for scheduled loss benefits for permanent partial disability resulting from her 1998 work-related injury. On March 23, 2001, an administrative law judge (ALJ) denied the claim because Ms. Rasbury's injury was not yet at maximum medical improvement. Ms. Rasbury later requested authorization for surgery, a decompressive laminectomy, and lumbar spine fusion, which was granted in a compensation order that was affirmed by the director. The employer did not appeal.
On June 20, 2002, Ms. Rasbury filed an application for a formal hearing claiming temporary total disability benefits from February 19, 2002 to the present and continuing, stemming from her back injury in 1998. Petitioner argued that Ms. Rasbury's claim was time-barred under the provisions of D.C. Code § 32-1524. After a full evidentiary hearing, ALJ Linda F. Jory issued a compensation order granting Ms. Rasbury's request. Specifically, the ALJ found that, contrary to Sodexho's assertion, Ms. Rasbury's claim did not request a modification of an existing award and as a result was not time-barred under the Act. On review, the director agreed that the claim was not time-barred because the stipulation signed by the parties did not constitute a full and final settlement of Ms. Rasbury's claims. Sodexho filed a timely petition for review with this court.
II. Discussion
In its petition for review, Sodexho argues that the director's decision is not in accordance with the law because neither the Act nor existing case law requires a compensation order to be issued in order to trigger the time limitation on modifications under the Act. Specifically, Sodexho contends that, according to the plain language of the Act, the period for requesting modifications is triggered by the "date of the last payment of compensation" or the rejection of a claim and that, in this case, the period commenced when it paid the amounts agreed upon in the stipulation. D.C. Code § 32-1524 (a). Petitioner further contends that, even if a compensation order is req
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