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Does the Court of Common Pleas have Jurisdiction to Hear Appeals Concerning the Reactivation of Workers’ Compensation Claims?
The Eighth District Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County recently addressed the issue of whether or not a Court of Common Pleas has jurisdiction to hear appeals from Industrial Commission orders on whether or not to reactivate inactive workers’ compensation claims.By way of background, section 4123.512 of the Ohio Revised Code grants jurisdictional review to the Court of Common Pleas for decisions involving a Claimant’s right to participate in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation fund, but not for decisions that relate to the extent of the Claimant’s injury. In other words, the Industrial Commission’s decision to either grant or deny additional benefits under an already existing claim is not subject to an appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. In a recent decision, the Eighth District Court of Appeals found that issues concerning reactivation of workers’ compensation claims are “right to participate” issues, rather than “extent of disability” issues. Consequently, the Eighth District held that decisions regarding the reactivation of claims may be appealed to the Court of Common Pleas.
In the specific case before the Eighth District, an employee was injured in the course and scope of his employment when he fell and sustained an injury to his left wrist. He then filed for workers’ compensation benefits and the claim was allowed for a sprain of the left wrist. The injured worker received medical treatment until May 2004 when he returned to work. Between July 2004 and June 2007, the Claimant did not seek further medical treatment for his left wrist and the claim became inactive. However, in July 2007, the injured worker sought medical treatment when he began experiencing pain in his left wrist. The Claimant’s doctor requested that the claim be reactivated and that the Claimant receive an orthopedic consultation. The Claimant then filed a request with the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to reactivate his claim.
In September 2007, a hearing was held in front of the Industrial Commission of Ohio on the Claimant’s request to reactivate his claim. The District Hearing Officer denied the Claimant’s request to reactivate his claim. The Claimant appealed the decision, which was affirmed by a Staff Hearing Officer. A subsequent appeal to the Industrial Commission of Ohio affirmed the denial of the injured worker’s request for reactivation.
In February 2008, the Claimant filed a Complaint in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 4123.512 and appealed the Industrial Commission’s decision not to reactivate his claim. The Employer filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the ground that the injured worker was appealing a decision that affected the extent of disability, rather than his right to participate in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation fund. The trial court granted the Employer’s Motion to Dismiss.
The trial court’s decision to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction was appealed to the Eighth District Court of Appeals. The Eighth District Court of Appeals applied a prior decision which held that the Court of Common Pleas has jurisdiction to hear a Claimant’s appeal to a Staff Hearing Officer’s decision which “forecloses further benefits to the Claimant.” This previous court held that decisions which foreclose further benefits to a Claimant actually work to bar the Claimant from further participation in a workers’ compensation fund and are therefore “right to participate” cases rather than “extent of disability” cases. Similarly, the Eighth District decided that the Claimant was denied further treatment for his left wrist sprain because the Hearing Officer determined there was no need for treatment. The Industrial Commission effectively barred the Claimant from further participation in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation fund for his claim. Therefore, the Eighth District held that the Court of Common Pleas has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the Industrial Commission that concern reactivation of claims.
Is one of your company’s previously inactive claims coming back into the picture? Feel free to contact Chad or any of the workers’ compensation attorneys at RBS to discuss the many issues surrounding the reactivation of a previously inactive claim.