709 A.2d 1325 (N.H. 05/19/1998)

[1]	New Hampshire Supreme Court
[2]	No. 96-437
[3]	709 A.2d 13255/19/1998 supreme court or both, the employee, if such employee prevails, shall be entitled to reasonable counsel fees and costs as approved by the board or court . . . . Because we have already determined that the claimant prevailed on the medical bills issue, we need only address whether he prevailed concerning the extent of his disability and the vocational rehabilitation issue. The claimant did not prevail on his claim that he was totally disabled. Although the board did not terminate his benefits, it reduced his temporary total disability benefits to diminished earning capacity rate benefits. The claimant did prevail, however, on the issue of whether he cooperated with vocational rehabilitation. See RSA 281-A:25, V. Therefore, pursuant to RSA 281-A:44, I, the claimant is entitled to attorney's fees for this issue. See Doucet, 133 N.H. at 683, 582 A.2d at 290. We note that if the claimant seeks attorney's fees for his appeal to this court, he must file a separate request. In sum, we affirm the board's decision to limit the use of the claimant's evidence regarding his March 1995 back surgery. We reverse the board's ruling that the issue of the claimant's medical bills was not properly before it, as well as its failure to award the claimant attorney's fees for the vocational rehabilitation issue. We hold that the claimant prevailed on both of these issues, and remand for a determination of the reasonable amount of attorney's fees that the claimant should receive from the respondents. Affirmed in part; reversed in part; remanded. All concurred.

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