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Kuzara v. State Fund11/14/1996
ve specific notice to a Spring Creek supervisor of the exact time, place and nature of her injury. At trial Kuzara testified that she believed she told Velasquez that her condition "was from that incident . . . and was brought on also from just years of wear and tear from the mine."
On October 15, 1993, Kuzara received a phone call asking her to come to Sheridan, Wyoming, to meet with Kilpatrick, Haugen, and Gibboney. In Sheridan, Kuzara learned that her employment would be terminated on October 16, 1993, and that she had no remaining sick leave with Spring Creek. Kuzara contacted the State Fund and was informed that Spring Creek had not filed a workers' compensation claim for her July 18 injury . Kuzara filed a claim with the State Fund which it denied.
Kuzara filed a petition with the Workers' Compensation Court seeking an award of benefits under the Montana Workers' Compensation Act. On November 14, 1995, the matter was heard before the Workers' Compensation Court. Following Kuzara's testimony, the State Fund moved for a directed verdict, arguing that based on Kuzara's testimony there was insufficient evidence to establish that she had provided her employer with sufficient notice of an injury as required by ยง 39-71-603, MCA (1993). The following exchange then occurred between Kuzara and the court:
THE COURT: Is [the September 20, 1993, discussion with Velasquez] the first time that you told him [about the July 18 incident] or told anybody that?
KUZARA: That I was that specific?
THE COURT: Yeah.
KUZARA: That I was that specific about it, I informed โ when I spoke with Clark โ
MR. SHEEHY: August 8th?
KUZARA: Yes, August 8th, with Clark and Gene, and then Don Gibboney on August 9th, I wasn't that specific.
THE COURT: As I recall your testimony, you said you told him that the latest thing had happened while you were lifting several weeks ago.
KUZARA: Right.
THE COURT: And that is as specific you got then?
KUZARA: Right.
THE COURT: Okay. So at the time you talked to these fellows on August 8th, 9th, and 10th, you weren't keying specifically in on the work that you were doing with the shoe and lifting the grates?
KUZARA: No. I didn't.
THE COURT: Were you keying in on that day to the โ at least the date that this all started, or were you even vague about that at the time?
KUZARA: I was vague about that. I told them several weeks.
Following this discussion, Kuzara's counsel agreed that there was no additional testimony that would prove Kuzara had provided a more specific report of an injury having occurred on July 18, 1993. The court granted the State Fund's motion for a directed verdict. In a judgment issued on November 27, 1995, the court deemed Kuzara's testimony to be credible. The court explained in its findings of fact that Kuzara's notice was insufficient because it was too vague. Kuzara admitted at trial that at the time of her conversations on August 8, 9 and 10, she had identified no specific incident or series of incidents from which her work-related problems arose and did not do so until after the thirty-day period had expired.
Kuzara, proceeding pro se, appeals the judgment granting the State Fund's motion for a directed verdict.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
The Workers' Compensation Court's determination that Kuzara had presented insufficient evidence to establish notice is a finding of fact. A reviewing court uses a three-step test to determine whether the findings are clearly erroneous. First, if a cou
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