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Lamson & Sessions v. Doyle11/12/2002
Respondent, David Doyle ("Claimant"), petitioned this Court for certiorari review of the Court of Civil Appeals' ("COCA") opinion, reversing the order of the Workers' Compensation Court on statute of limitations grounds. In support of his petition, Claimant has alleged the COCA decided questions of substance in a way which are probably not in accord with applicable decisions of this Court. Specifically, he alleges his Form 9, filed on March 8, 2001, was sufficient to give timely and adequate notice to Employer of his consequential injury to his bowel and therefore satisfied the applicable statute of limitations. The dispositive issues are: (1) whether Petitioner, Lamson & Sessions ("Employer"), received adequate notice of the claim for benefits for Claimant's consequential bowel injury after surgery for a compensable back injury; and (2) whether Claimant was required to file a new or amended Form 3 for the consequential injury. We answer the first question in the affirmative and the second question in the negative. The COCA committed error when it held Claimant's consequential bowel injury was barred because he did not file an amended Form 3 within the time allowed by the statute of limitations. See 85 O.S. Supp. 1997 ยง43(A), the statute in effect at the time of Claimant's injury. The opinion of the COCA is vacated, and the order of the Workers' Compensation Court is sustained.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Claimant sustained a work-related back injury in 1999. As treatment for his back, surgery was performed on February 8, 1999. Although the Form 3 is not included in the record on review, Claimant alleges he filed it to commence the claim for his back injury in the Workers' Compensation Court in April, 1999. This appears to be undisputed. The trial court awarded Claimant temporary total disability in February, 2000.
After his surgery, Claimant developed problems with controlling his bowel functions. On March 8, 2001, Claimant filed a Form 9, "Motion to Set Hearing", requesting permanent total disability benefits for his back injury and for the consequential injury to his bowels. In support of his request, he attached a written medical report from his doctor, Dr. Melissa Smith-Horn. She gave an opinion Claimant's bowel injury was a consequence of his employment-related back injury and rated his disability at "19% permanent partial impairment to the body as a whole due to loss of bowel control . . . ." Employer objected to the request for permanent disability on the grounds that Claimant had not amended his Form 3 to add the consequential injuries, and that these claims were therefore barred by the statute of limitations. The trial court overruled Employer's objection and awarded Claimant permanent total disability compensation .
The COCA reversed the trial court's order, finding Claimant's failure to amend his Form 3 to include the bowel injury barred the claim. It held:
Section 43(A) prescribes the two-year time limit for filing a Form 3. Indeed, it is the Form 3 which initiates the claim process. Benning v. Pennwell Pub. Co., 1994 OK 113, 2 nn.2-3. The purpose of the Form 9 is simply to set the matter for trial. Here, Claimant's Form 9 indicated that the issues to be tried were permanent total disability and continuing medical treatment. The information on the Form 9 was insufficient to place Employer on guard that Claimant would be alleging consequential injury to the bowels.
Moreover, although Dr. Smith-Horn's medical report stated that Claimant had sustained bowel impairment, it would place an unreasonable burden upon Employer to require it to read the medical report and anticipate all of the issues to be raised at trial.
Page 1 2 3 4 Oklahoma Personal Injury Attorneys
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