Ortiz v. Charles J. Murphy & Co.
| Citation | 964 P.2d 595 |
| Decision Date | 23 July 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 98CA0086,98CA0086 |
| Parties | 98 CJ C.A.R. 3917 Anita ORTIZ, Petitioner, v. CHARLES J. MURPHY & COMPANY; Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority; and The Industrial Claim Appeals Office of the State of Colorado, Respondents. . IV |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Colorado |
Steven U. Mullens, P.C., James A. May, Colorado Springs, for Petitioner.
Curt Kriksciun, Denver, for Respondents Charles J. Murphy & Company and Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority.
No Appearance for Respondent Industrial Claim Appeals Office.
Opinion by Judge ROY.
Anita Ortiz (claimant) seeks review of a final order of the Industrial Claim Appeals Office (Panel) denying her petition to reopen her workers' compensation claim against her employer, Charles J. Murphy & Co., and its insurer, Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority, (collectively CCIA) and denying her claim for medical benefits. We affirm.
The sole issue on review is what constitutes the "date of injury" for purposes of determining the running of the time permitted for reopening an occupational disease claim which, according to § 8-43-303(1), C.R.S.1997, must be reopened "within six years after the date of injury." We hold that the statute begins to run from the date of the onset of disability.
In June and July 1988, claimant reported her injury to employer, and she was diagnosed with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. In her subsequent workers' compensation claim, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found that claimant sustained a compensable occupational disease and awarded medical and permanent disability benefits. The ALJ also found that claimant was last injuriously exposed to the hazards of the disease on August 16, 1989, her last day of work.
In February 1995, claimant filed a petition to reopen the claim, alleging that her condition had worsened. Claimant asserted that her petition was timely filed because the six-year period of limitations began running on the date of her last injurious exposure, August 16, 1989, rather than during June or July of 1988, which was the onset of her disability.
The ALJ, without a hearing and based on a stipulation, found that the petition to reopen was filed more than six years after the onset of disability, but less than six years after the date of the last injurious exposure, and was timely. The ALJ opined that application of the "onset of disability" rule could result in a denial of compensation to those claimants who suffer an onset of disability but continue to work for the same employer for six years and a day before filing a claim for compensation. To avoid this seemingly inequitable result, the ALJ determined that the period of limitation commences to run from the date of the last injurious exposure, rather than the date of the onset of disability. The ALJ later determined that claimant proved a worsening of condition, and awarded medical benefits.
The Panel set aside these orders. Agreeing with CCIA's position, it held that the determination of claimant's date of injury is governed by the "onset of disability" rule.
Claimant concedes that, pursuant to § 8-43-303(1), a claim is barred from reopening if the petition to reopen is filed more than six years after the date of injury. However, she asserts not only that the date of injury for her occupational disease is the date of her last injurious exposure, but also that her onset of disability did not occur until August 16, 1989, and coincides with her date of last injurious exposure. Therefore, she argues that the injury, onset of disability, and last injurious exposure all occurred on August 16, 1989, and that her February 1995 petition to reopen was timely filed. We disagree.
The "last injurious exposure" rule governs the apportionment of liability...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
City of Colorado Springs v. APPEALS OFFICE
...an appropriate test for determining when the limitation period begins to run in occupational disease cases. See Ortiz v. Charles J. Murphy & Co., 964 P.2d 595 (Colo.App.1998)(applying onset of disability rule to find that claimant's petition to reopen an occupational disease claim was The o......
-
Wal-Mart Stores v. Indus. Claims Office, 99CA0028.
...claimant's disability benefits had to be computed based on his wages at the onset of his disability); see also Ortiz v. Charles J. Murphy & Co., 964 P.2d 595 (Colo.App.1998)(applying onset of disability rule to find that claimant's petition to reopen an occupational disease claim was While ......
-
Union Carbide v. Industrial Claim Appeals
...of disability is an appropriate test for determining when the limitation period begins to run in such cases); Ortiz v. Charles J. Murphy & Co., 964 P.2d 595 (Colo.App.1998)(for purposes of determining the time for reopening an occupational disease claim, "date of injury" is date of onset of......
-
In the Matter of Claim of Delagerheim v. Innovative Machining, Inc., W.C. No. 4-533-723 (CO 5/4/2006)
...which impair the claimant's ability effectively and properly to perform his or her regular employment. Ortiz v. Charles J. Murphy & Co., 964 P.2d 595 (Colo. App. 1998); Ricks v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 809 P.2d 1118 (Colo. App. In this case the ALJ found that the claimant failed to......