 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Color Country Management v. Labor Commission12/6/2001
' Compensation Act. See Wilstead v. Indus. Comm'n, 17 Utah 2d 214, 407 P.2d 692, 693 (1965) (stating the purpose of the Act is to insure income to an injured employee and his or her family and eliminate expense, delay, and uncertainty of the employee in having to prove negligence, and to place the burden of industrial injuries on industry); Industrial Comm'n v. Daly Mining Co., 51 Utah 602, 172 P. 301, 306 (1918) (rejecting employer's construction of the Act because it would in large measure "make it useless and of no material benefit"). We thus reject the construction urged by Color Country and conclude the Commission did not err in interpreting section 35-1-67 to require Commission approval of the reemployment plan.
We also reject Color Country's argument that the Commission erred in ruling that the statute requires that the reemployment plan provide for the payment of subsistence benefits. Section 35-1-67(6)(c)(ii) plainly states that a plan "shall include payment of reasonable disability compensation to provide for the employee's subsistence during the rehabilitation process." Utah Code Ann. ยง 35-1-67(c)(ii) (1994) (emphasis added). Thus, not only was the Commission's decision that the subsistence benefits must be included in the plan correct, it was also correct to rule the plan was defective for failing to do so. Moreover, the second ALJ pointed to an additional shortcoming of the plan when he rejected it. According to the June 14, 2000 order, the plan was defective because the physical work restrictions for Thomas contained in the plan were materially different than those specified by Dr. Smith and referred to in the August 1998 order awarding permanent total disability benefits. The ALJ noted that Kit Bertsch, who drafted the reemployment plan for Color Country, testified she was never given a copy of the August 1998 order or Dr. Smith's restrictions for Thomas. She also testified that, had she received these materials, she would have relied upon them in drafting the reemployment plan. The Commission correctly applied the law in determining that the plan was not reasonable.
Color Country next argues that its due process rights were violated by the Commission and that section 35-1-67 is unconstitutional because it violates the due process clauses of the Federal and Utah Constitutions. Color Country cites to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 7 of the Utah Constitution in making this argument, but it does not articulate any basis for interpreting the two provisions differently or suggest that Article 1, Section 7 entitles it to greater protection than that afforded by the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, we analyze this claim only under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and we undertake no independent analysis of Article 1, Section 7 of the Utah Constitution. See State v. Kohl, 2000 UT 35, & n.3, 999 P.2d 7.
Notwithstanding that the general policies and provisions of workers' compensation acts are not unconstitutional, particular provisions of these acts may yet run afoul of the Constitution, and so we now turn to consider the specific due process challenges raised by Color Country.
Color Country's due process argument has several components. First, it argues that its due process rights were violated because the issues of permanent partial and permanent total disability were not ripe for consideration at the time of the first hearing before the ALJ on January 6, 1998. The basis for this argument is that Thomas had not reached medical stability by the time of the first hearing, and she had not received any permanent work restrictions. Color Country argues that the permanent partial and permanent
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Utah Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|