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Wright v. Philip Electronics North America12/6/1996
ly advances, each for the amount of $172.00, made voluntarily by the insurer. Accordingly, we have revised footnote 3 to clarify this point. In addition, Wright expressed concern that in our discussion of appellees' reliance upon the Subsequent Injury Fund, in particular LE § 9-804, to support their "dollar credit" position, we may cause some confusion as to our holding in this case. While we doubt that any misinterpretation would occur, we have deleted a portion of that discussion, as suggested by appellant. We, therefore, grant the motion for reconsideration, withdraw our September 25 opinion prior to publication, and issue this revised opinion in its place.
ARGUMENT(S)
This case involves the manner in which appellees' previous payments of temporary total disability and permanent partial disability benefits to Wright should be credited against their obligation to pay Wright $144 per week for 200 weeks. Wright advocates that the credit should be applied under a "weeks paid" scheme. Under Wright's approach, appellees would receive credit for the total number of weeks for which they paid disability benefits to Wright. Appellees, on the other hand, advocate a "dollar credit" approach that awards credit for the total amount of money paid.
I. THE ACT
Under the Act, the duration of disability compensation and the amount of that compensation are statutorily determined and based on a weekly disbursement schedule. Section 9-627 defines the length of compensation made under the Act for permanent partial disabilities. Sub-sections 9-627(a)-(j) list various categories of injuries and designate each injury with the appropriate length of compensation in weeks. E.g., Md. Code, LE § 9-627(d) (1) (ii) (stating that a loss of one's hand equates to 250 weeks of compensation). Sub-section 9-627(k), known as the "other cases" sub-section, states:
(1) In all cases of permanent partial disability not listed in subsections (a) through (j) of this section, the Commission shall determine the percentage by which the industrial use of the covered employee's body was impaired as a result of the accidental personal injury or occupational disease.
....
(3) The Commission shall award compensation to the covered employee in the proportion that the determined loss bears to 500 weeks.
Md. Code, LE § 9-627(k). For example, in this case the Commission calculated the figure of 200 weeks of compensation by multiplying the baseline number, 500 weeks, by the percentage of the disability, 40%.
Section 9-629 outlines the amount of compensation due a claimant with a permanent partial disability and whose compensation, calculated pursuant to section 9-627, is between a period equal to or greater than 75 weeks but less than 250 weeks. Section 9-629 provides that
the employer or its insurer shall pay the covered employee weekly compensation that equals two-thirds of the average weekly wage of the covered employee but does not exceed one-third of the State average weekly wage.
Md. Code, LE 9-629.
II. THE ODYSSEY
Before embarking on our interpretative odyssey through the realm of the Act, we must establish certain principles that will guide our legal journey. The Court of Appeals has expressly stated that the Act "as a whole, 'should be construed as liberally in favor of injured employees as its provisions will permit in order to effectuate its benevolent purposes.'" Para v. Richards Group, 339 Md. 241, 251, 661 A.2d 737 (1993) (quoting Howard Co. Ass'n Retard. Cit. v. Walls, 288 Md. 526, 530, 418 A.2d 1210 (1980)); accord Lovellette v. City of Baltimore, 297 Md. 271, 282, 465 A.2d
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