Walls v. Howard County Ass'n for Retarded Citizens, 198

• Decision Date: 09 November 1979
• Docket Number: No. 198,198
• Citation: 407 A.2d 778,44 Md.App. 168
• Parties: Ruth WALLS v. HOWARD COUNTY ASSOCIATION FOR RETARDED CITIZENS, INC., et al.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

Page 168

44 Md.App. 168

407 A.2d 778

Ruth WALLS v. HOWARD COUNTY ASSOCIATION FOR RETARDED CITIZENS, INC., et al.

No. 198.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

Nov. 9, 1979.

Gerald A. Zimlin, Baltimore, for appellant.

Joseph B. Harris, Towson, for appellees.

Argued before LOWE, LISS and WEANT, JJ.

WEANT, Judge.

On February 14, 1977, the appellant, Ruth Walls, filed a claim for benefits against her employer and its insurer with the Workmen's Compensation Commission. The appellant claimed that she had sustained an injury to her left knee, which arose out of and in the course of her employment for the Howard County Association for Retarded Citizens, Inc., the appellee, on February 10, 1975. A hearing was held before the Commission on July 19, 1977, and by its Order dated August 15, 1977, the Commission found that the claim was barred by the applicable statute of limitations and therefore disallowed it. On August 23, 1977, an appeal from the Commission's decision was filed in the Superior Court of Baltimore City. The appeal was tried without a jury on January 18-19, 1979, and the Order of the Workmen's Compensation Commission was affirmed. It is from the superior court's decision that this appeal has been taken.

On appeal we are faced with one question: whether the appellant's claim for benefits was barred by the running of the two year statute of limitations contained in Maryland Code, Art. 101, § 39(a). Section 39(a) provides in pertinent part:

"(a) Accidental injury; report of physician; failure to file application as bar. When an employee is entitled to benefits under this article, he shall file with the Commission his application and the report of his physician, provided he was attended by a physician of his own selection, within sixty days after the date of his accidental injury, for which compensation is claimed, and failure to do so, unless excused by the Commission, either on the ground that the insurance carrier or the employer has not been prejudiced thereby, or for some other sufficient reason, shall be a bar to any claim under this article; provided, however, that failure of an employee to file a claim for compensation within two years from the date of the accident shall constitute a complete bar to any claim under this article."

The appellant contends that although she failed to file a claim within two years from the date of the accident, her claim is nonetheless timely under § 39(a). She argues that the appellee's failure to file a report of the accident causing disability pursuant to § 38(b)-(c) tolls the running of the two year statute of limitations. Section 38(b)-(c) provides in pertinent part:

"(b) Report of accident by employer. Whenever an accident causing disability for a period of more than three days following the happening of such accident occurs to any employee, it shall be the duty of the employer within ten (10) days after the receipt of notice of Such accident, ¹ oral or written, to report such accident and injury resulting therefrom to the Commission. Such report shall state (1) the time, cause and nature of the accident and injuries, and the probable duration of the injury resulting therefrom; (2) whether the accident arose out of and in the course of the injured person's employment; (3) any other matters and rules and regulations as the Commission may prescribe.

(c) Effect of employer's failure to file report after having been given notice. Where the employer has been given notice, or the employer, or his designated representative in the place where the injury occurred, has knowledge of any injury or death of an employee, and the employer fails, neglects or refuses to file a report thereof, as required by the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the limitations prescribed by this article shall not begin to run against the claimant or any person entitled to compensation until such report shall have been furnished as required by subsection (b) of this section." (Footnote added, emphasis added).

The record before us shows that the accident which caused the appellant's injury occurred on February 10, 1975. She immediately reported the accident to her supervisor thereby complying with § 38(a), which provides in pertinent part:

"(a) Notice. Notice, in writing or otherwise, of any injury for which compensation is payable under this article shall be given to the employer within ten days after the accident, . . ."

Thereafter the appellant was absent from work on the following dates: February 25-26, 1975; May 19-21, 26, 28-30, 1975; June 9-10, 1975; August 7-8, 15, 1975; she attributed this lost time to the injury sustained on February 10, 1975 and so notified the employer. As stated above the appellant filed a claim for benefits against the appellee with the Workmen's Compensation Commission on February 14, 1977. The appellee then filed its employer's report on April 18, 1977.

In finding that the appellee's filing of the employer's report on April 18, 1977 did not toll the two year statute of limitations contained in § 39(a), the trial court stated:

"Article 101, Section 39(a), requires an employee to file a compensation claim within two years from the date of the accident and the failure to do so is a complete bar to the claim. However, Section 38(c) states that limitations shall not begin to run until the employer files the report of the accident required by sub-section (b) of Section 38. . . .

Sub-section (b) has several requisites. First, the employee must notify the employer of the accident. Sub-section (a) of Section 38 says that this notice must be given by the employee to the employer within ten days of the accident. Second, the employee must be disabled for at least four days. ² Third, the employer must report the accident to the Commission within ten days of receiving notice of the accident from the employee. To be able to satisfy All of these requirements, the employee must be disabled for four days prior to the end of the ten day period after the employee notified the employer of the accident. If construed otherwise, then the employer would not be able to comply with the statutory requirement that it filed (Sic ) a report with the Commission within ten days of being notified of the accident by the employee. If the claimant's contention is correct, then the employer would not be required to file the report to (Sic ) the Commission until ten days after May 28, 1975, which was the fourth day of the claimant's disability. But that period was almost four months after the claimant notified the employer of the accident. Such a construction would totally negate the statutory requirement that the employer's report be filed within ten days of the employee reporting the accident, which was February 20, 1975. The only interpretation that satisfies the entire language of sub-section (b) is that the employer must report the accident to the Commission only where the employee is disabled for at least four days prior to ten days after the employee reports the accident to the employer. If the claimant's contention is carried to its logical conclusion and if a claimant's fourth day of disability does not arise until one year after the accident, then the statute of limitations would be extended to three years and ten days instead of only two years. That clearly is not the intention of the legislature. Since the claimant was only disabled for two days prior to February 20, 1975, the employer was not required to file the sub-section (b) report. Therefore the two year statute of limitation did not stop running from the date of the accident." (Footnote added).

We disagree with the trial court's interpretation of the statutory provisions in question. In holding that "the employer must report the accident to the Commission Only where the employee is disabled for at least four days prior to ten days after the employee reports the accident to the employer," (emphasis added), the trial court misconstrued the underlying purpose of requiring an employer to file a report of an accident. Section 38(b) states in...