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Color Country Management v. Labor Commission12/6/2001
at due process does not always require a hearing prior to every administrative action nor is it necessary to hold a hearing at a particular point in a proceeding so long as a hearing is held prior to a final order becoming effective).
We also reject Color Country's claim that it was denied due process because there was no medical panel appointed. The appointment of a medical panel is discretionary and is called for when there are significant medical issues in dispute. See Willardson v. Indus. Comm'n, 904 P.2d 671, 674-75 (Utah 1995). Here, Color Country points to the reports of Drs. Root and Tebbs and claims there was a conflict in the evidence between these reports and that of Dr. Smith. However, the second ALJ specifically addressed this in his June 14, 2000 order. He considered all of this evidence and concluded that there was no conflict in the evidence sufficient to mandate a medical panel because the reports of Drs. Root and Tebbs were from November 1996 and January 1997, respectively. The ALJ pointed out that these reports were made over a year before Thomas reached medical stability and also noted that Dr. Root dealt only with Thomas's arm injuries and failed to include the injuries to her neck in making his impairment rating. The ALJ concluded that there was "no conflict in the medical records as neither Dr. Root, nor Dr. Tebbs, pretended to provide conclusive, comprehensive impairment ratings . . . at a point of medical stability." We also note, as did the ALJ, that Thomas underwent two more surgical procedures after the reports of Drs. Root and Tebbs were prepared.
Moreover, as the Board noted in its October 2000 order, in Dr. Root's 1998 IME, his ultimate conclusion on Thomas's employability was: "I think her chances of being gainfully employed with all of these problems would be difficult." In the IME, Dr. Root also stated that "Ms. Thomas's complaints about neck and shoulder discomfort are directly related to the initial injury in October of 1994." Thus, Dr. Root's conclusions were not in conflict with the conclusions of Dr. Smith on these issues. Considering all of the above, we cannot say the Commission abused its discretion by not appointing a medical panel.
Color Country also argues that if the Commission's interpretation and application of section 35-1-67 is correct, then section 35-1-67 is unconstitutional on its face and as applied for additional reasons. Color Country argues that section 35-1-67 violates the due process clause because it does not provide time frames for the second hearing or any opportunity for corrective action following a second hearing. Color Country also argues that the Act is unconstitutional because there is no provision for recoupment of monies paid as subsistence benefits to an employee pursuant to an interim order if it later turns out that the finding of permanent total disability was erroneous. Color Country argues that it can be years before such an order is judicially reviewed, and because the employee does not have to hold the money in trust, there is "little or no chance of any recovery."
It is clear that Color Country has a property interest in the monies it pays for compensation benefits and/or insurance premiums. It is equally clear that, for purposes of our due process analysis, there has been state action here. This issue turns, then, on whether Color Country received all the process it was due before the Commission deprived it of its property interest.
In Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 349, 96 S. Ct. 893, 910 (1976), the United States Supreme Court rejected a due process challenge brought by a recipient of social security disability benefits (SSDI) whose benefits had been terminated w
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